Spirit Dragonborn: Dragon Crisis Saga
by haljordan123
Summary: Some things can't be stopped by the flow of time. Kuwabara and his friend travel to the world of Skyrim to find out what is happening and to stop the great menace that threaten the world. (Starts at the beginning of the game. Slight AU.)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Yu Yu Hakusho. The titles belong to Bethesda and Yoshihiro Togashi respectively.**

Chapter 1: Reunion

Do you know what it feels like to be a veteran who just came from the war? The world celebrates, everyone continues their life in peace, no more the oh-so-scary-and-powerful tyrant who tried to take over the world. Most of us don't, but Yusuke Urameshi certainly does. It was 10 years after the demon world crisis where he had to help his soulfather, Raizen, with his starvation problem. But for now he wasn't a spirit detective anymore. He was just a simple mechanic, tinkering his client's motorcycle in his garage.

After fastening the last bolt, he wiped his smudgy face with his own shirt, but when he was about to stand, he saw a shadow behind him.

"No! The shop is closed for the day! Can't you ever let me have time for myself for one second? I swear I'll-" He turned his back and saw someone he wasn't expecting.

"You'll what? Punch me in the face, Urameshi?" The face belonged to someone called Kazuma Kuwabara, one of Yusuke's schoolmates, and his rival.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Kazuma Kuwabara in person. It's been a long time, pal. What are you doing here?" Yusuke asked him, putting his hands on the hips.

Kuwabara smiled, "I was just passing around this neighborhood and I rememberd this is where you used to live. So I thought I was going to stop by and say hi. How are you doing?"

Yusuke turned around towards his garage, "You see for yourself, this is where I live and work."

He gave Kuwabara a tour around the place, showing his motorcycles, his tools and an unfinished project in front of them.

"Not too shabby, to be honest. How did you get the money to buy all this stuff?" Kuwabara asked him.

"My father left me a quite large amount of money when he passed away. So when my mom died last year, it's all mine." Yusuke answered him, folding his arm with his usual cocky attitude.

Kuwabara suddenly felt so bad, "Whoa, I'm sorry, man. I didn't know that."

Yusuke just waved at him, "Nah, it's alright. She died peacefully in her sleep, anyway."

Kuwabara walked three steps before looking at the bike that had been dissected, "Wow, I'm surprised you even get a customer with your bad attitude. Did you beat the crap out of him when he refused?"

Yusuke felt confused now, "Hey! I may be rude, but I'm not stupid. I know when to give someone my fist, especially a carrothead like you!"

"What did you say, you jerk?" Kuwabara shouted then pinning Yusuke's head in a lock, but Yusuke stomped his foot, which made him release his head.

"Geez, Kuwabara, I see you keep yourself strong. How do you do it?" Yusuke asked him intently.

"Guess what, after high school, I joined with a local baseball club, and now I play for them as a batter. This is my second year." He told Yusuke and chuckled after that, showing how proud he was with his success.

Yusuke saw him with wide eyes, "Wow, congrats to you, man. I bet your skill with Spirit Sword helps a lot, doesn't it?"

"You bet it does! Do you know my record? From 20 hits, I only fail twice, in fact, I'm the best batter in my region now! Hehehehe," he shrugged.

Rolling his eyes, Yusuke headed back to his chair and sat down, "Good for you, then. I ain't got any chance to use my fighting skill after high school. All my grades are shit, and this is the best job I can come up with." He took a gulp of soda from his bottle.

"Hey, I got an idea!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Why don't we meet with our old buddies. You know, Kurama, Hiei and Genkai."

Yusuke snapped himself back from his chair, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down! I don't mind having a reunion with Kurama or Hiei, but if you really plan to bring that old hag, you must be crazy, man."

Kuwabara eyed him with confusion and felt baffled, "Why the hell not? It's been 10 years now since the last time you saw her. I don't think she's going to scold you or anything like that. It'll be great, I promise."

Yusuke took some time to think whether he would go or not, "I don't believe I'm saying this, but okay then, I'm in. When is this reunion and where?"

Kuwabara scratched his head which was not itchy, "How about Genkai's place a week from now? So you can finish, uh, whatever that is…" He pointed at the bike, "then you took a day off for the meeting. Sounds cool?"

"Meh, whatever. I don't care, I still think it will suck, big time. I already regret my decision now." Yusuke shrugged. But Kuwabara embraced him, "Come on, man. Don't give me that look, cheer up, buddy. Okay?"

"Yeah, whatever. Just go away! I already missed my Sunday morning anime!"

* * *

A week had passed, and Kuwabara was finally in front of Genkai's house. He knocked the door three times and after waiting for a minute, they were opened by none other than the old lady herself. "Hello, Genkai. It's nice to see you. How's your day?" He smiled and tried to chitchat.

The one he talked to just gave him a scowl, "Just come inside and stop your babble already!"

Suddenly he felt like he was slapped so hard, "Ooookay then…"

Inside the house, he was given a cup of tea while waiting for everyone. Then after 15 minutes of awkward waiting, another person came. It was Kurama, a minute after that came, Kayko, Yukina, Shizuru and Botan. The last came to Kuwabara to talk, "Hey Kuwabara, what's up?"

"Oh hello, Botan, nice to meet you. It's been a long time and you still look as pretty as before," he finished it with a smile.

Botan laughed and felt embarrassed at the sametime, "Oh thank you, Kuwabara. You don't have to. Hahahaha."

"Don't let him get to you, Botan. You deserve a better one." Kuwabara felt insulted all the sudden and retorted to the person, "What do you mean by that, sis? I was just saying hello!"

Shizuru only enjoyed her tea and cigarette without even looking at him, "You may be able to fool anyone, but you can't fool me, bro. I have watched you since you were born. So drop the act."

Kuwabara could only jumped backwards and let a single tear hanging on his right eye, "She's so mean…"

Then someone walked to the room where they were hanging out, he was dressed in all black clothes and wielded a sword on the side of his waist. Kurama then stood up and greeted him, "Hiei! You're here. I thought you would never come."

The said man didn't answer the demon fox right away, instead he walked to the other side of the room and sat on the floor. "Tell me again, Kurama, what am I doing here?"

"Oh, don't be so rude, Hiei. We're just meeting some old friends, that's all. It won't hurt your pride, will it?" Kurama teased him and smiled slyly, because well, he was a fox after all. But Hiei didn't feel the need to answer him, so he just closed his eyes and dozed off.

For a moment, everyone was having a nice time together, Kuwabara was taking to Yukina, maybe he tried to rekindled the lost fire between them, much to Hiei's dismay. Kayko was talking to Shizuru and Botan while sipping their tea, "So Botan , what are you doing here on Earth? I thought your job was finished after that last tournament."

Botan placed her cup on the table, "Oh, actually, as Koenma's servant, my job is never finished. You see, yesterday I just finished my report on some petty demons who stole an artifact from the museum, and the day before that, I sent Koenma my review about a strange sighting on ghosts in the forest. But don't worry, everything's under control. The current spirit detective is doing a pretty good job. She's not as talented as Yusuke, to be honest, but she's good."

"Wow, a female spirit detective, huh? I think Spirit World knows about gender equality too. Tell me, what does she look like?" Kayko asked her.

Botan then put her finger on her chin while thinking, "Hmmm, how do I put it? She's like Sensui when it comes to action, which means she doesn't charge head on, like _some people_ here. But of course, minus the craziness. I don't think she will be Sensui 2.0, you know," she finished explaining then waved her hair.

Shizuru listened all that and put her cigarette out in the ashtray, "I just hope she doesn't have a friend like my brother, or her career will be cut short."

Botan only scowled at her reaction, but before she could say anything, Genkai called, "I'm sure you're enjoying yourself and whatever, but it looks like the last guest haven't arrived yet, so maybe…"

The doors were slammed violently, then lo and behold, the man she was speaking about was there in white T-shirt and brown pants, trying to catch his breath after running. "Not so fast, old lady!"

"Late as usual, Urameshi. It's nice to see you haven't changed after all these years. I can't really see you as a businessman in expensive suit. The world might blow up if I saw that day." Genkai told him calmly.

Frustration reached the top at the back of Yusuke's head, he threw his hands up in the air, then formed them into fists, "Hasn't anyone ever teach you some manner, old woman? Why do you never say anything nice to me?" He directed his attention to Kuwabara, "See? I told you this is why inviting her is a big mistake… Ahhhh!"

Using her telekinetic power, Genkai flipped him upside down in midair, then dropped him on the floor where he landed with a thud. Yusuke quickly got up to his feet and tried to hit his former master, but he was stopped when he heard someone yelling, "YUSUKE! Didn't your mother taught you never to hit a woman?!" It was Kayko.

Suddenly he felt his anger disappeared and it was replaced with dread and confusion, "You... You invite them too, Kuwabara?"

Kuwabara only shrugged and played dumb, he knew exactly the right person who could tame him like a little puppy, "Why the hell not? She's still your girlfriend, right? I just don't want to face her wrath for not inviting her."

Yusuke said nothing, but looking at his best friend in the eye and pointed his finger at him, "You and I need to talk after this." Then he moved to the corner and sat with long face. His relationship with Kayko had been on and off the last few years, mainly after she graduated from the university. She studied international politics, so her job required her to travel aboard to meet new people and that made him feel a little bit left behind. When she returned to Japan, he tried to meet her and take her out on a date, but knowing she met foreign people with probably better attitude made him inferior sometimes.

After everyone was in place, Kuwabara quickly ran to the center of the room and started his speech, "Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming on short notice. I make this reunion simple for the fact that it's been 10 years since we were together. So I really hope we can share stories and remember the good times we had, just for the old time sake."

"Wow, I didn't know you can be so eloquent. I thought you are always a pigheaded moron who talks something you don't know." It seemed the bad blood between Kuwabara and Hiei never ceased, but Kuwabara tried his best not to lose himself just because someone insulted him, something he learned from the baseball club.

"Listen, little man, I really don't want to ruin my day, so you better go back to you nap and let me finish my sp-" His sentence was never finished because a blue portal showed up under his feet and sucked him from where he stood. Everyone was shocked and jumped, "What the fuck was that?" Yusuke shouted. The next portal opened in the wall just behind the girls, sucking them inside altogether, "Kayko! No!" Yusuke screamed. The third portal opened in the center of the room, trying to pull the rest of them. They all activated their spirit energy to anchored them to the floor, but something was draining their spirit energy, making them losing control. Genkai was the first to go, but Yusuke caught her hand and hold himself on the wall. Then suddenly the portal was like using the second gear, the suction increased dramatically and no one prepared for something like that. Yusuke, Genkai, Kurama and Hiei were all pulled inside that portal, then it was disappeared, leaving an empty house in the middle of daylight.

 **I think a lot about this story while writing my Gladiator-Oblivion story. I'm planning to put each character into specific faction. That's it for now. Thank you so much for reading. Feel free to give me reviews. :-)**

 **Until next time,**

 **haljordan123 signing out**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skyrim and Yu Yu Hakusho. The titles belong to Bethesda and Yoshihiro Togashi respectively.**

 **A/N:** **Sorry i took very long time to upload this story. Work finally catch up and i had to find some time to write. This chapter is twice longer than I usually write, that also explains the delay. But enough with this chit-chat, you don't click this story to read author's note, right? Just enjoy the story.  
**

Chapter 2: Unbound

Sunshine penetrated between the leaves in the forest canopy, the birds were chirping, the wind breezed from the mountain. Yet in the middle of the idyllic scenery, these men were only thinking about one thing in their mind, the defeat of the Stormcloaks. These were the Imperial soldiers under the command of General Tullius. Creeping on the layers of snow, they stalked a group of Stormcloaks ahead. They waited for hours until the group passed on the road just a few meters below them. The captain gave them her signal, then in the flash, arrows were flying towards the Stormcloaks. Half a dozen men died instantly before they even got a chance to draw their weapons. The tranquility of the forest was soon replaced with the screaming of the soldiers from both sides and the sound of clashing steel. The white snow turned red by their crimson blood.

The Stormcloaks fought bravely that day, but army of the Imperials was just too many. With the sound of the horn, the reinforcement came down from the hill. It was not long before the Stormcloaks realized they were surrounded. One by one they were following their captors into the forest, and that was when something strange happened. Right in front their eyes, a portal opened and from it came a group of people they never saw before.

The captain, accompanied with a couple bowman, raised her sword, "Stop right there! Who are you, people? Speak!"

The female one with long blue hair spoke up, "Where are we?" However, the captain didn't like when her question unanswered, "I will only say this once! Who! Are! You!" She shouted louder with each word.

Another one decided to speak, this one, a male with brown pants and black hair, "Hey! We just arrived here and you meet us with your sword? I don't like the way you talk, pal, so listen! We were at Genkai's place not too long ago, and now we're here with… whoever you are. So you must be the one who kidnap us, right?"

The captain blinked confusedly while her men behind slowly turned towards each other. "What are they saying?" One of them murmured and another replied, "No idea. But I think they are liars."

"Now I want you to send us back right now!" The man demanded while readying his fists. The captain turned to one of his men, asking for suggestion. "I heard daedra can appear from the portal like that, ma'am. Maybe they are some type of daedra?" The soldier answered him.

The captain turned back to the group, "I need to take you with us to be questioned. You can continue on your way once we know you are not a threat."

They walked to the group and start pushing them. One of the soldiers pushed a woman's violently, "Come one, walk faster, filthy daedra!" But the woman had some guts, "Don't touch me, bastard!" He swatted the soldier's hand. This angered the soldier, so he slapped her hard she fell to the ground, "Watch your mouth, slut!"

As soon as he finished that sentence, he found himself lying on the ground with nosebleed. The tallest man in the group punched him in the face, "That's my sister, you jerk!" He swung his fist to the soldiers, hoping to take them down, but the captain reacted fast, she hit his head with the pommel of his sword, knocked him out. The black-haired man attacked him to defend his friend, "You want a fight? You got it!" He punched him as hard as he could. He couldn't contain the surprise he got when the captain blocked his punch and hit him back.

The black-haired man looked stunned, "What happened to my power? It should have knocked him out in the cold." The other soldier moved forward to defend his captain. He kicked him in the stomach, then punched him in the face a few times until he was out. Her captain stepped forward to stop him, "That's enough!" Then she looked at the strange group, "Anyone else like to fight? Be my guest."

They looked around to see hundreds of soldiers all around them and the only possible thing to do is to surrender. _"Maybe they're not so stupid after all."_ The captain thought to himself. "Take them all!" She ordered his men to bind them and told the group to get on the prisoner carts. She saw the black-haired man being pushed to the carts. The man sat on one of them with a red-haired man which is weird, because she never saw anyone with hairs like that. The other was a short man with spiked hair who sat in the same cart with an old woman. Then the women, two of them were quite ordinary, a young lady with short, brown hair and a tall woman that the soldier just hit. But another two were out of this world, it's their hair, well, they were… blue. No one in Tamriel had anything blue in their body, except the iris of some people. But she threw away that thought and focused on the matters at hand. She now had to deliver these prisoners to the general on the other side of the hill, then after that? Who knows.

* * *

The first thing Kuwabara felt after all that hours were the stinging pain on the back of his head. He felt his body rocking from side to side. He looked down and found his hands were bound with a piece of rope. He tried to loosen it by stretching it to no avail. Then someone spoke, "Hey, you. You're finally awake. Quite a performance you displayed back there. Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there."

Looking up, he saw the source of the voice, a blonde man in some sort of blue armor. His hair was quite long, covering his cheek. The moustache and beard grew on almost all over his lower face. On the right side of the man was another man in a rugged-looking clothes. Compared to the first man, he was rather skinny.

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell," he cursed. Then he looked straight to Kuwabara. "You there... You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

Kuwabara turn sideways to the left, "I don't know what you are talking about. All I know is that my friends and I were brought here somehow. Where am I?"

The blonde man spoke, "This is Skyrim, the most beautiful land in the world."

The name was not familiar to him, "I'm not very smart, but I'm afraid I've never heard the name where I came from."

The blonde man showed him an interested expression, "That is... odd. Even those Khajiits would know about Skyrim. Then I think you guys are more lost than I thought. But it doesn't matter, for we're all brothers and sisters in binds now, stranger."

"Shut up back there!" the Imperial soldier who drove the cart barked suddenly, obviously irritated by their conversation. They kept silent again for the next minute or so. Kuwabara took the chance to look around. Sitting at his right was a man whose mouth was gagged and he appeared to wear a fancy-looking coat, much different than the soldiers. He gazed at his left to see where they were heading. A few more cart were moving in convoy in front of and behind them through a lush green forest. He could see Shizuru and Botan in one of the cart, but where the others were he didn't know. The weather was very cold and these men looked like the Europeans from history books he ever read. His brain worked hard for answer of their whereabouts. What were those portals in Genkai's place? What did they do to them? Did they somehow throw them to Europe in the middle ages? If that was the case, then what is this Skyrim? He'd never heard a country called Skyrim, even though he tended to fall asleep during History class. Or perhaps it was one of those small and unpopular city?

His train of thought soon be interrupted by the thief. "And what's wrong with him, huh?" he starred at the man with the gag.

"Watch your tongue. You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King," the blonde man spat.

The thief slowly raised his head and fixed his sitting position, "Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?" He finished his sentence and turned to the blonde man.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits."

The thief shook his head frantically, "No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening."

Now Kuwabara was totally confused, "What's wrong? What's so bad about this Sovangurd that makes him panic so sudden?"

The blonde man chuckled, "Nay, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just the afterlife for us Nords. And it's Sovengard, by the way."

 _"Huh, another strange term. I guess they are some kind of Nordic people from Norway or something. Maybe I wasn't so wrong to think that we're dumped in the past."_ Kuwabara thought to himself.

"Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?" the blonde man asked him.

"Why do you care?"

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."

 _"Great, after scaring him, now he tries to comfort him,"_ Kuwabara smiled inside.

The horse thief seemed to be apathetic at first, but he decided to answer it anyway, "Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead."

"I'm Ralof, and who are you, stranger?" he directed the question to Kuwabara.

"My name is Kazuma Kuwabara, but you can call me Kuwabara. Is this really the time to make friends?"

Ralof laughed a bit, "Relax, Kuwabara. I just think at least we have to know each other before anything happens."

Then the cart that they were in took a turn and headed to some kind of settlement. It had walls of stone with wooden houses and a few armored persons stood around the place.

One of them shouted, "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" Then someone in front of the convoy spoke, "Good. Let's get this over with."

Hearing that suddenly made the horse thief panic again, "Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!"

Ralof watched as the general dismounted from his horse and gave him a disgust look, "Look at him, General Tullius, the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this. This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

Kuwabara didn't say anything, but looking at the said man. He wore an elaborated piece of armor and had a gray hair that looked like the snow.

People from around the city gathered in front of their house, "Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?" asked a boy to his father.

"You need to go inside, little cub," his father told him. The kid tried to talk back to him, "Why? I want to watch the soldiers." His father felt more worried by the minute, so he ushered his son, "Inside the house. Now."

The carts turned right to the stable and came to a halt. The thief turned to see the Imperial soldiers and then to Ralof, "Why are we stopping?"

Ralof didn't even look him in the eye, but got up from the cart, "Why do you think?" Then he looked down to him and said, "End of the line. Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

Just like that, the panic returned to his vein like a flood, "No! Wait! We're not rebels!" Ralof made a last step to the ground before murmuring, "Face your death with some courage, thief."

Kuwabara waited behind the thief as he heard him begged, "You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake! Please!"

He kept rambling and ranting, until the Imperial Captain who was a female called them, "Step towards the block when we call your name! One at a time!"

Ralof gritted his teeth and muttered, "Empire loves their damn lists." The captain suddenly stopped and shot him a glare, "What's that?!" She walked to Ralof and starred him with her face just a foot in front of his, "You keep talking like that and I'll make sure they torture you to your death, Stormcloak."

Instead of intimidated, Ralof couldn't help but smile and laugh, which made her more curious, "What so funny?"

 _Pchooh!_ Like a llama, Ralof spit on her face, that she returned with a powerful punch to his face. He groaned in pain and touched his lips that was bleed by her gauntlet.

"Enough! Captain, leave him and back to your duty," Tullius barked at her. So she walked back to where she stood previously beside a Nord in Imperial uniform. In his hands were a piece of paper and a quill. He came forward and started calling, "Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm."

The jarl stepped forward and walked without any hesitation, leaving his loyal Stormcloaks behind. "It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric!" Ralof said to him.

The Nord read the next name, took a deep breath before calling without even looking away from the paper, "Ralof of Riverwood."

Ralof walked a few steps forward before stopping next to him, "I bet your father is proud of you, Hadvar."

Kuwabara saw the Nord called Hadvar closed his eyes for a second, then he continued, "I'm just doing my job, Ralof. So could you please leave me to my duty and walk away, please?"

"Hmm, it looks like they knew each other before this conflict happened. How terrible! Families and friends are torn apart! Perhaps this world isn't so different after all." Kuwabara thought to himself.

The name calling continued, this time the horse thief who apparently named Lokir got called. He soon expressed his objection, "No, I'm not a rebel. You can't do this! There must be a mistake!"

Hadvar flipped a couple pages to see if there was an error in the list, but he found nothing. "Sorry, the list appeared to be true. Please step forward calmly and..."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Lokir was now dashing through the street towards the city gates.

"Halt!" the captain barked while drawing her sword. But nothing seemed to stop Lokir from escaping, he just kept running to his freedom. "Hahaha, you're not going to kill me!"

Seeing there's no other choice, the captain sheathed her sword back to its scabbard, then she told her men, "Archers! Fire!" There were five of them, each one pulled the bow string and shot the arrow with deadly accuracy. All five arrows met their target, Lokir's back. His lifeless body slumped to the ground like a doll.

Genkai saw what transpired before her eyes, "Idiot. What chance did he think he had?"

Yusuke looked at her former master, "You're right. Look at this place. There're too many of them. I wish I had my spirit energy right now. That way, I could have finished them all without breaking a sweat. How about you, Genkai?"

The old woman frowned, "I'm afraid I'm in the same situation as you are. Since we arrived here, I have been unable to summon my spirit energy. It feels like I am naked considering I've been aware of its presence all my life."

Then Kurama who had been listening to their conversation decided to speak up, "You're not the only one. Hiei and I, we've been stripped from our power since the portal sucked us in." He paused for a second, then continued with a whisper, "For demons, this condition is frustrating because we were practically born with it." He finished explaining, hoping that no one of these people pick up what he just said, or it would be very, very bad.

"Anyone else feel like running?" the captain asked the prisoners, Stormcloaks and the spirit gang alike. Then she told Hadvar to continue listing.

He was about to call another prisoner, until he saw Kuwabara and the group. "Wait. You there, all of you. Step forward. Who are you?"

Kurama, being the one of the most educated person among them, tried to negotiate with the Imperial captain, explaining how they came to this world, but she just took it as a nonsense. And after getting their names, their disbelief only increased because they never heard that kind of names anywhere else in Tamriel.

"Captain. What should we do? They're not on the list," Hadvar asked the captain.

"Forget the list. They go to the block." At this time, their rage and fear reached the breaking point, Yukina started to cry and Keiko attempted to protest and demanded a fair trial, calling them corrupt and lawless. Meanwhile Yusuke and Kuwabara tried to break free from their bonds, only to get the swords pointed at their face, even Hiei didn't bother to fight. His incredible speed was gone with the rest of his abilities, making him only slightly stronger than an average teenager.

The captain turned her back and went to stand next to the general. Hadvar folded the paper back and nodded to her, "By your orders, Captain." Then he said to them, "Follow the Captain, prisoners."

They had no choice but to obey. They headed to where the captain told them to and joined the Stormcloaks. There Ulfric was standing tall and proud, his eyes only showed courage and determination. Then General Tullius walked to him, "Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like The Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne."

Seeing the general made Ulfric want to kick his ass so hard had he wasn't bonded. He tried to speak, but only a muffled grunt waa heard due to the gag.

"You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace." Tullius glared to the jarl, trying to intimidate him. But then, they heard something out of the world. A roar unlike anything they knew.

"What was that?" Hadvar asked while looking up to the sky.

Tullius waved his hand, "It's nothing. Carry on."

The captain gave him a nod, "Yes, General Tullius!" Then she turned to a woman in light brown robe with a hood. Shizuru look at her and wondered if she was a priest of some sort. The captain pointed the woman, "Give them their last rites."

The woman who was actually priest raised her hands and said a prayer, "As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved..."

Everyone in the spirit gang instantly rolled their eyes, hating the ceremony already. They knew exactly they did this one to make the prisoners feel a bit better about their death that they would be accepted in this world version of afterlife or Spirit World.

One particular Stormcloak shared the same idea, he stepped forward without invitation to the execution block, "For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!"

The priestess glared at him judgingly, "As you wish."

The Stormcloak soldier walked to the block, knelt and put his head inside it.

"Come on, I haven't got all morning." The executioner gripped his battleaxe and raised it above his head. Keiko, Yukina, Botan and Shizuru looked away, feared of what's about to come. But the Stormcloak cocked his head towards the Imperial soldier, "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" Whatever word he was going to say, if any, was never heard as the axe came down with a thud, severing his head from the rest of his body. The head fell into a box in front of the block while the captain kicked his body away from there, making space for another victim.

Keiko didn't dare to look at the bloody spectacle and buried her face inside Yusuke's chest with both hands still tied. Everyone in the Spirit Gang growled and gritted their teeth in anger after seeing the brutality, the one who felt angry the most was Ulfric. He knew what Tullius was going to do, killing his subordinates one by one in front of his eyes, breaking his spirit, then he would be the last to die.

"You Imperial bastards!" one of the Stormcloak cursed them, only to be answered by another insult.

"Justice!" "Death to the Stormcloaks!" said the villagers.

Ralof tried his best not to provoked, instead he praised his comrade's bravery, "As fearless in death as he was in life."

The captain then scanned the prisoners for the next victim. Her eyes moved from Ralof, the one who spat on her face, which she would gladly send to the block. Then she saw Yusuke who hit her back in the woods. But she finally decided not to let her emotion take the best of her. "Next, the tall daedra with the funny hair!"

She demanded Kuwabara to go next since he was able to knock one of his men down in one punch, something that Yusuke couldn't do.

The guards grabbed his arms and pulled him to the center of the city where the block lied. His friends let out an outcry, urging them to stop, especially Shizuru. She struggled to push through the guards, trying to save his brother from his death.

Then the same roar was heard again for the second time. Yusuke and the others were too busy shouting at the Imperial soldiers, so they didn't notice it. But it unsettled Hadvar and some of the soldiers. He looked up to the sky with bewildered expression, "There it is again. Did you hear that?"

"I said, next prisoner!" barked the captain, unfazed by the sound and she dismissed it as a mere wild animal.

Hadvar turned to Kuwabara, but still felt uneasy about that noise, "To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy."

Kuwabara himself couldn't do much. With his hands tied, he was forced to walk to the block. The captain kicked the back of his knee to make him kneel, then she used her boots to pin his neck down.

Kuwabara screamed, trying to break free from her. His friends tried to help him, but they were stopped by the guards with their swords and arrows. When the hope had forsaken them, everyone stop struggling and Shizuru fell on her knees, sobbing out loud. This was the second time she felt so powerless after Sakyou's death. The difference was Kuwabara was her brother, and that made it personal. Keiko, Botan and Yukina hugged her to comfort and give her support.

Kuwabara laid his head at the bloody stone block, disgusted by the sight of the previous Nord's head inside the basket. "Damn it, could you please take out his head? I prefer a private place for my head."

"Shut it, daedra! We have no time for your petty jokes." The captain silenced him.

If there was anything more terrifying than death, it was the anticipation. Kuwabara was leaning sideways so he could see his executioner. He saw him lifting his battleaxe in an intimidating way, then he raised it above his head to gain momentum. He closed his eyes and silently pray for his friends and family back on Earth. When he remembered his baseball career, he couldn't help but felt regret. In five years he could be playing in the national league, but it wouldn't happen because of the stupid portals.

He expected his vision to disappear at the moment and felt his neck to be chopped clean, but what came after was nothing like he thought. Another roar. He opened his eyes and saw a moving dot grew bigger and bigger from the mountain, and he wasn't the only one to see that.

Tullius focused his eyesight on the object before growling, "What in Oblivion is that?"

"Sentries! What do you see?" asked the captain.

One of the them put his hand above his head to reduce the flare from the sun, "It's in the clouds!"

"Dragon!" shouted a Stormcloak.

By now the thing landed on one of the tower, making the headsman falling forward from the vibration and almost fell on top of Kuwabara. The spirit fighter quickly get back on his feet before gazing at the creature. It was black as night with huge wings, each one could cover an average house. It glared at Kuwabara with its red eyes, then opened its mouth, sending out a strong shockwave. Kuwabara managed to get away from its path, but the headsman wasn't so lucky. He was hurled fast to the wall and splat into a messy smear.

The dragon looked up to the heaven and released a loud roar. It was different from the previous ones because somehow it turned the sky red and meteors started raining upon the little town.

The town guards and Imperial soldiers scrambled to attack the dragon, leaving the prisoners unguarded.

Genkai saw the chance and took it, "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Not with Kuwabara! Go, I will meet you at the gate." Yusuke said to her.

They ran to the gate, while Yusuke was trying to find his best friend. Fortunately, they met little to no resistance since the guards were preoccupied with the dragon. Some of them were shooting arrows and some others were shooting fireball from their hands. But none seemed to harm the creature, the arrows were bounced from its scale and the fire extinguished themselves upon contact with its hide.

Kurama saw the fire casters in their palms before flew to the dragon. He wondered what kind of technique they were using. At first, he thought this world resembled the Earth in the middle ages and therefore was too primitive. But apparently that wasn't the case. Seeing the fire caster using their technique in the public indicated that this world believed in magic, unlike Earth.

Meanwhile on the other side of the town, Kuwabara was pushing left and right to get to his friends. He saw Yusuke running towards him. "Hey, Kuwabara! C'mere! We're escaping!" Yusuke called him.

Kuwabara dashed through the crowds and ran alongside the ex-spirit detective. "Where are the others?" he asked.

"They're going out of town at the moment. Follow me!" They quickly navigated their way among the soldiers and battlemages who were struggling to bring down the winged beast above their head. Tullius was heard giving them orders to get the townspeople to safety.

They just passed the stable when they met a particular Stormcloak. "Hey, strangers. Follow me! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!" Ralof called them and headed to a tower.

Yusuke was about to follow him when he remembered about Kurama, Hiei, Genkai and the girls. "Wait a minute, mister! Our friends are leaving the town right now. Why should we follow you?"

Ralof turned back to him, showing a pure annoyance, "Look, it's flying giant lizard that spew fire. Do you really think your friend can get far from that thing? We'll have a better chance to survive in the tower. If you want to live, you better call them and come with me. Hurry, I'll meet you in the tower over there. Go!"

Yusuke saw him moving to the said stone tower. He told Kuwabara to go after him and wait for them. After that, he ran across the town to get everyone else. Shizuru looked upon him hopefully when he returned, "Where is my brother? You said you will come back with him."

Yusuke raised his hand, trying to calm her down, "There's a change of plan. One of those prisoners told us to get inside the tower or the dragon will toast us on the way out."

Hiei saw him, completely didn't buy a single word that came out of his mouth, "And you will believe everything this prisoner said to you? I thought you'd be more mature after these years."

"Oh, come on now, Hiei! I don't have time for this!"

Just after he said the last word, a fireball fell a few meters from where they were standing, burning a tree to crisp. "See? Now let's go, boys and girls!" They dashed back into the town and towards the tower where Kuwabara and other prisoners was waiting, hoping to escape the onslaught from the dragon that appeared out of nowhere.

 **Whew! That was some chapter! I took the idea of losing power from Dr. Manhattan with the Avengers-LOTR crossover. It makes Yu Yu Hakusho characters not overpowered compared to Elder Scrolls standard. But I assure you they will eventually regain their powers. I can't promise when I will post the next chapter, but it will come when it will come. So, make sure to subscribe this story.**

 **Until next time, everyone. Ciao.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I don't own Elder Scrolls and Yu Yu Hakusho, or else I would be filthy rich by now.**

 **Sorry for the delay, guys. But worry not, the new chapter is here! Let's enjoy the story!**

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Chapter 3: Escape

There was only one question that popped into Keiko's mind: Why? Her life was good before the reunion. She had a nice job with the above average payment and she could live in her own apartment which she rented with her own money. Part of her wanted to blame Kuwabara for telling them to gather around after so many years. If it was up to her, she would like to keep things as it had been, everybody had move on with their life and it was definitely for the best. No more demon infestations, no more tournaments to decide the fate of the world, no more people with god complex trying to kill everyone, and therefore, no more fighting.

She wanted to confront Kuwabara after all of this, if she survived, but judging from the situation, she doubted he was responsible for this. How could he dump them here if he knew he was going to be beheaded? Perhaps Koenma was the one to blame, that guy was the reason Yusuke became a spirit detective and had to deal with those cases.

"This way! Come on!" Ralof yelled, telling the group to enter the tower. It successfully broke her train-of-thought. She quickly rushed inside and she was panting hard. She took the time to look around the tower. The Nord soldier, who she remembered his name was Ralof from the listing, was conversing with Ulfric, the leader of this rebellion. There was an old-looking table and a flipped chair. Besides those two was one of the most horrific scene she'd ever seen, a female soldier was lying on her side and she was holding her stomach which was drenched in blood. She screamed in fright and buried her face on Shizuru's chest. Yukina braced herself and stepped forward. She knelt down and tried to heal her using her gift. Of course she heard about how the others lost their powers, but she just couldn't let this woman die in pain. She concentrated hard, focusing her spirit energy to her palms, but nothing came out. The soldier was whimpering and trembling, but Yukina refused to give up. She put more effort into her action and determined to heal her whatever the cost.

Meanwhile Kuwabara managed to regain his composure. Then he looked over to Ulfric, "Hey, you, you are their leader, right? Do you have a plan now?"

The ground shook every time the dragon landed, sending the dust trickling down from the ceiling.

"We need to move. But it would be best if your bonds to be cut. You and you, set them free!" Ulfric said with authority, commanding two Stormcloak to cut yhe rope that bonded their hands. Then Ralof guided them to a set of stairs, "All of you, come on, we go up through the tower, cross the bridge to another tower, then we climb down the rope, from there we go to Windhelm through the woods. It's dense enough, maybe it will hide us from the dragon, let's go!"

He went up stairs with them behind him. A couple of Stormcloaks joined them, one was in front of Kuwabara, and one was next to Ulfric, who was at the tail. Seeing the others left, Botan tried to pull Yukina up from the ground. She was persistent, still trying to heal her, but deep down inside, she felt so powerless, her spirit energy left her unable to do what she was known for. Botan saw that the soldier was finally died and ushered Yukina to the stairs.

They almost reached the end of the stairs when something bashed through the wall next to the staircase. Everyone gasped and grunted when they saw it was the dragon. The creature opened its mouth and sent a jet of fire into the keep.

"YOL TOOR SHUL!"

The poor soldier who was at the front screamed in agony when he was burnt alive by the dragon. After that, the lizard pulled out its head and it went to fly around again.

Everyone tried to get back on their feet, then Ralof saw the burning town from the hole the dragon just made.

"Do you see the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going! Go! We'll follow when we can!" he told them.

Kuwabara looked down to assess the height. He'd never done this since the Sensui fiasco. He cursed himself at the thought of his legs being broken. Before jumping, he grabbed Shizuru as everyone grabbed the ones that couldn't fight. Keiko circled her arms around Yusuke's neck, Kurama hold Botan's hand while they descended, and Hiei helped Yukina, making him slightly uncomfortable. Genkai landed last gracefully despite the fact that she lost her spirit energy.

They continued to run across the town after realizing the tower wouldn't protect them. Along the way, soldiers and battlemages were still struggling to kill the beast.

"How in Oblivion do we kill this thing?"

"By Ysmir! Nothing kills it!"

"Die! For the love of the gods, die!"

Yusuke gritted his teeth when he saw that the dragon couldn't be harmed by any means, arrows or fire. He led the group to a crossroads when he saw a man lying on the ground with a boy at his side. An Imperial soldier took the kid from what looked like to be his father and handed him to another Imperial. Then the dragon landed in front of them and sending another flame that killed the man instantly. Yusuke and everyone hid behind a crumbling house before it flied away to terrorize more people. When they got out from there, the Imperial soldier noticed them, "You guys again? Still alive, huh? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way. Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join their defense." He addressed the later part to his comrade before guiding the group into another building.

Halfway through the commotion, they saw the dragon swooping down towards them after tossing an archer that it picked up.

"Stay close to the wall!" Hadvar commanded. Kuwabara wasted no time and pushed himself on the nearby wall, followed by the others. But the dragon unexpectedly perched on the same wall and burned several houses. Kuwabara looked to his right and saw its talon just two feet from the beast. He hold his breath as long as they were under the shade of its wings, hoping it would leave them unnoticed.

When it's finally gone, they continued to run, but their guide suddenly stopped running. Kurama turned his head to see what happened this time. It's the Stormcloak from before. Apparently he managed to catch them in one piece.

Facing him, their guide pointed his unsheathed sword to him and formed a defensive position. "Ralof! You damned traitor. Out of my way!"

"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time," Ralof responded in the similar manner, with his sword drawn.

"Wrong answer. I'm taking you for the trial. You won't make this... this dragon as an excuse to be sparred," Hadvar replied. At the time Genkai recognized that he was the one who read the list.

"No way! As Nords, there's only one way to settle this. Victory or Sovngarde!" He was about to finish Hadvar when Genkai jumped in between them.

"You fools! Have you forgotten that there's a fire-breathing dragon above your head, slaughtering this town at the moment? I don't know what is going on with you two, but I want get the hell outta here! So calm your horses and grow up!" she yelled as she scolded them.

Both of them were stunned by her words, but still raised their sword. Then Kurama put decided to put them back into the focus, "We need to get out of here, it's not safe here. Where are you taking us, Hadvar?"

Hadvar turned back to him, "Um, yeah, we need to get inside the keep, it leads to the underground, we'll be safe there, quickly!"

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go!" Yusuke nodded. They headed to the said keep, together with Ralof who walked in with a long face. Then Botan gasped at Hiei, "How did you get your sword back, Hiei? Didn't they take it from you before they took us with the carts?"

Everyone looked back in astonishment. Hiei walked nonchalantly before speaking, "While they bickered there, I went to where they keep the confiscated weapons to get it back. Lucky for me, they're too preoccupied with the dragon than to guard them."

Kurama walked alongside him, "Why didn't you let it go and grab another one? There must be plenty of them from the dead soldiers?"

"I like this one."

Kurama raised his eyebrows, not asking anymore. After Hadvar closed the door behind them, they began to walk inside the keep. Just next to the door, there was a collection of barrels which Hadvar told them to loot from. Yusuke took a pair of leather gauntlet to strengthen his punching power in lieu of spirit energy. Kuwabara was given an iron sword by Ralof which he took from a dead Stormcloak. Kurama saw a hunting bow on one of the shelves, as well as a quiver filled with a couple dozens of arrows. He grabbed them and put them behind his back. The boys finally finished arming themselves, except Hiei who was content with his own sword.

Meanwhile, Hadvar looked over to the girls, "Hey, I saw you five still haven't got any weapon. May I know your preference? Sword? Knife? Hammer?"

Botan stepped forward to answer, "Oh, I'm sorry. But we're not really fighters, except Genkai here. Don't you need a weapon, Genkai?"

The old master folded her arms, "You know very well, I'm not overly fond of any types of weapon. So I-" She was frozen for two seconds before closing her eyes as if she was meditating.

Botan bent over and waved her hand in front of her face, "Helooooo! Earth to Genkai, do you copy?" Then she flinched when she saw her opening her eyes.

Yusuke walked over to them, "Yo, what happened Genkai?"

She sighed, "I can feel a subtle flicker of my spirit energy. It's faint, but it's there."

"What?" Everyone gasped and looked each other in confusion. Botan stared the boys, "Is that true, guys? I mean, if she can feel it, then you can feel it too, right?"

Eager to find out, the Spirit Fighters did the same to try to reach deep down, sensing their powers. Everyone in there understood what they were doing, except two of them.

"What are you milk drinkers doing? Are you secretly monks or something? Are we getting out or what?" Ralof asked them in annoyance.

"Hey, why do you have to be so rude? They're just trying find their inner power. You may not know us, but if they succeed, it will help us a lot to survive whatever this is!" Botan said to him, stomping the ground.

"Huh, inner power, my ass. Just come down when you're done, will you?" He shrugged and headed downstairs.

Hadvar rubbed the back of his head, "Forgive him, please. Sometimes Ralof can be a pain, but he's a good man, really. He just needs some time to cool off after what happened outside."

Then the boys opened their eyes, "Ah, my sleepyhead brother finally wakes up," said Shizuru.

"So can you feel you spirit energy?" asked Genkai.

"I'm afraid I'm in the same shoes, Genkai. I managed to find a fraction of my old power, but it's not enough to perform Rose Whip," Kurama explained.

Yusuke sighed before talking, "I definitely agree. I don't think I'll be able to shoot more than one weak Spirit Gun. How about you, big guy?"

Kuwabara shook his head in disappointment, "Well, I can't find enough juice to make a Spirit Sword. But the good news is that I have some of my Spirit Awareness. I can sense your spirit energy, guys. And like Genkai said, it's really tiny."

Keiko smiled a little after hearing the news, "Well, I guess it's better than nothing. At least what you lack in spirit power is covered by the numbers. The more we are, the more we'll be safe. Um, by the way, how about you, Hiei? You've been awfully quiet."

The short demon snorted, feeling uninterested, "I don't feel anything, except a little bit faster than before. It still makes me feel pathetic, if you want to know."

"Hey, look at that! The grumpy man is back. We're not so screwed as I thought earlier," Yusuke tried to hold his laugh.

Hadvar had been listening the conversations and tried to understand some parts of them. From what he knew this far, this people may not be from Skyrim or even Tamriel, judging from the terms that they used.

"Alright then, gentlemen and ladies. I think it's time for us to go." In his hands were two sacks of cloth. He laid them on the table before the girls.

"Since you said you're not fighters, I think these will suit you well." He emptied one of the sack, revealing five iron daggers. "These are for you, but I really suggest to use them as the last resort when your life is threatened. Until that, you should stick with us and let us do the fighting, okay?" He said as he handed them the daggers.

Yukina saw the other sack he was holding, then pointed at it, "What's inside that sack?"

"Oh, these are just some potions I can grabbed in here, and assuming you've never seen any potions,

Then he looked at Genkai who was walking towards Yusuke, "Um, lady, don't you want to grab this dagger for yourself?"

She turned her head to him, "Thanks for your offer, but I don't like weapons like that. I prefer to trust in my own body. Now if you please, lead us on. This place starts to give me creeps."

Hadvar gave her a nod as he went downstairs, "Sure, let's go then."

After the stairs, they met a turn where Ralof had been waiting. "For a minute, I thought you'd never show up," he sneered.

Hadvar ignored him for the most part and reached the lever on the wall to open the metal gate. They were about to go past the gate when some people came running.

"Captain, it's nice to see you again."

"Hadvar, what are you doing with these prisoners? Are you joining them?" the captain asked him.

"No, this is not what it looks like. We are escaping Helgen, and these people, they are not exactly bad persons. I think they were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

"That's not for you to decide. You should take them to Solitude where they'll be presented at the trial."

Hadvar looked at every member of the group, including Ralof for answer. Part of his duty was to do whatever the Empire told him, but the other part of him realized he couldn't just leave innocent people to their fate.

"What are you waiting for, soldier? Are you questioning my order?" the captain asked him.

Feeling there was no other choice, Hadvar unsheathed his sword, "I'm sorry, captain, but their lives matter, especially when an overgrown lizard flying above our head."

The captain and her subordinate drew their sword, "You just made the biggest mistake of your life."

The captain lunged at Hadvar with her sword held high. Hadvar readied himself to block her attack, but instead of hearing the sound of metal clashing at each other, he heard the sound of flesh being torn.

He looked down and found Hiei stabbing his captain in the chest. Hiei pulled his sword and the Imperial captain dropped dead. Seeing his supervisor dead, the other Imperial tried to attack, but his sword only hit the air because Hiei killed him too by stabbing him in his stomach.

Everyone looked at each other, unable to form any words. Hadvar gave Hiei his hand to thank him, but Hiei responded by giving him cold glare.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't kill them to save you. That bitch got what she deserved. And I don't like her the moment I saw her." Then he walked away.

Everyone shrugged and continued traveling through the keep. As they were walking, Yusuke put his hand on Hadvar's shoulder, "Don't worry too much about Hiei. He was always like that. You'll get used to it. And look at the bright side, your hands are clean."

"I guess you're right. But what should I tell General Tulius about the captain? Telling him that your friend killed her is not a good idea," he asked him.

"Nah, I know you're a smart man. Just make up a story and you'll be fine."

The underkeep was truly dark with only a few lights from the braziers at the corners every now and then. It's winding path finally brought them to what looks like a torture chamber. Seeing potential trouble, Hadvar thought quickly and told the torturer to stop and free the Stormcloak prisoners. It wasn't easy, he had to convince him that the fight could be resumed some other time, but the main priority here was to escape from one common danger, the dragon outside the keep. Finally he agreed and unchained them which took positions with Ralof. Both of them somehow managed to calm each side not to slit each other's throat for now.

Navigating their way further into the dungeon, they found an underground river which made the Spirit Gang feeling astonished. After a couple minutes, the water disappeared and the rocks beneath their feet were full of cobwebs.

"Ugh, what the hell is this place?" Kuwabara asked, feeling uneasy. He must gave more effort to lift his feet because of the cobwebs. Meanwhile, Kurama noticed something enveloped by the cobwebs. He braced himself to touch it. It was soft, he removed the outer layer to reveal what's beneath it. Two things surprised him, first, it was a rat, and second, it was a giant rat. It was 3 feet in length, more than any rats he had ever seen.

His observation was interrupted by the shrieking voice of Keiko who pointed at the ceiling of the cave. Everyone looked up to see the source of her dread. Their eyes widened to witness four living, breathing giant spiders dangling with their web. The bigger one shot its venom towards the group, hitting nothing as they dodged it. Kuwabara pulled his sword and started to slash the spider. Yusuke tried his best to hurt the animal by punching it. Hiei joined the fray and cut another spider's legs so it couldn't move further and Kurama stepped backwards so that he could shoot the arrows. Some of them met their target, weakening the monster more and more.

While they fought them, Genkai told the girls to stay back behind her when she tensed her muscles, just in case everything went south. Ralof, Hadvar and the other soldiers, Imperials and Stormcloak alike were helping them by attacking the other two spiders.

Hiei now was in front of the spider, ready to give it the finishing blow when it bit his leg. He felt a cold sensation that numbed down the area surrounding the wound, but it was rather mild. After an arrow to the eye, he jumped on top of its back and buried his blade inside its head, killing it instantly.

Just a few seconds later, Yusuke and Kuwabara finished their part with Kuwabara pulling his sword out of the spider's body. Botan felt a little grossed out when she saw the black blood on the sword.

"Okay, can somebody tell me what they are? Because we don't have those where we came from," Yusuke asked the soldiers.

"They are frostbite spiders. They like these kinda caves and have venom that drain your stamina," Ralof described it to them.

Kurama then saw a bite wound on Hiei's leg, "Hiei! Your leg! You were bitten!"

"Yes, I know, but it's nothing. I can't feel its effect anymore."

Hadvar looked at it and scratched his head that wasn't even itchy, "That's impossible. You shouldn't be able to move. That's what happened to those rats over there," he pointed at the ceiling where the rats were stored to be eaten later. "How did you do that?"

"Maybe I'm just lucky I'm not a rat." Hiei replied with the simple answer. He might not want to give a full explanation, but Kurama, Kuwabara and Yusuke knew it was because of his demon blood. They saw it once when he fought Seiryu. The demon launched multiple ice attacks, but it won't slow him down even for a little bit.

They left the dead spiders and walked for another 5 minutes until they reached the exit. Everyone's spirit, no pun intended, was lifted when they saw a ray of light coming through the crevices. Before too long, they were out in the open area, facing the magnificent view of Skyrim, a land of miracles. A land that had many wonderful things for them to explore.

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 **That's chapter 3 for you. Like it? Hate it? Indifferent? Give me your reviews and let me know what you thing.  
**

 **And about this story, some of you may wonder which side will our heroes take in the civil war? I'm sorry to tell you that I will make them neutral, that's what I thought when i played it, because the threat from Alduin is definitely bigger than a group of racist elves or Nord ultra-nationalists.**

 **I also promise that the spirit energy will begin to play a bigger role in the next chapter.**

 **Thank you for reading, everyone.**

 **haljordan123 signing out**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elder Scrolls and Yu Yu Hakusho. They belong to their respective owner.**

Chapter 4: Before the Storm

As they walked away from the town that just became a ruin, Kurama took the opportunity to ponder on the situation at hand. Since the crisis in Demon World, he never thought to see another adventure. In fact, he was enjoying his life as a botanist in a prestigious research center in Japan. He often found himself spending 24 hours in the lab, doing what he loved, which was finding benefits from many plants for many fields of science and industry. Or sometimes he got to dissect some newly discovered flowers and fungi from Southeast Asia and South America, learning its properties. Money was never a problem, the government had been pouring millions of dollars (or billions of yen) to fund the research. He also found a colleague to be quite charming and the two began dating ever since. Her name was Mariko, a microbiologist who often received samples from the plants that he studied. They lived together in a nice apartment for two years now and the marriage was not far ahead. Life was good and he needed to remind himself that he was a demon from time to time because part of him started to think he was human.

His pondering session was cut when Hadvar signalled them to get down. Apparently, the same dragon that laid waste to Helgen was passing above their heads. After he was sure the dragon was far enough to see them, the group continued their journey.

"So where are you leading us? Do you have an idea where to go, Hadvar?" This time it was Botan asking.

"We're going to my home town of Riverwood. My uncle Alvor is a blacksmith there. You guys can take a shelter in my house if you want to," he answered the Spirit World assistant.

"Oh, finally, I can have a nice warm bath and give my feet a deserved rest. I can't hardly wait," she responded excitedly.

"How about you, Ralof? Are you coming with us?" Yusuke asked the Stormcloak.

The young Nord grunted, "I only need to eat something there, to replenish my strength. Then I'll be heading to Windhelm to join Jarl Ulfric where I belong." He looked at Hadvar who was at the front, "This doesn't change anything. I could've escape from that place by my own. If anything, your friends was the reason I'm in this state," he said as he walked past Hadvar.

Kuwabara couldn't contain his curiosity, so he came up to tell Hadvar something, "What happened between you two exactly? Did you steal his food or something? Because I'll be mad if Yusuke steal my food."

"Hey, I can't believe you still remember that! We're like what, seven when I did that. Can't you just let go?" Yusuke cried.

"I was starving from playing football, you know. It took my mom another hour to make a new one, you punk."

The whole group was trying not to giggle watching their bickering. It was relieving to see their friendship still intact after a decade apart.

Hadvar raised his hands to calm them down and bring their attention back to him, "The quarrel over food was history. I see you are not from around here, are you?"

The Spirit Gang responded by shaking their head or stared in silence, confirming their ignorance. Then Hadvar continued, "Hmm, where do I start? Ah yes, let's start from the geography. The land you are standing on is called Skyrim, the northernmost area of the continent Tamriel. Does any of those names ring a bell?"

"Not at all, kid. But please elaborate, I have a feeling this isn't even Earth we know," Genkai answered sharply.

Hadvar looked very confused after that statement, "What do you mean by Earth? Is that the name of your nation?"

Yusuke stepped forward to speak, since he felt the conversation was taking too long, "No, you silly. Earth is our planet, we live in a country called Japan. Where is Japan? We just want to go home."

"There is no Japan or whatever, I'm not sure I'm following you."

Kurama gasped at the end of his sentence, attracting the group's attention.

"What is it, Kurama? You've been awfully quiet. You must have been thinking hard," Hiei said, looking at the fox demon.

With all pairs of eyes looking at him, Kurama tried to explain, "Have you ever heard about the multiverse theory?"

"Let's just assume we haven't. What is it?" Genkai answered.

"It's a theory that says that our universe is actually one of many others. There are infinite amount of universe, some of them are very similar to our, but some are very different. It varies from the one where I am just an ordinary corporate worker or maybe the one where Hiei has a bachelor degree. Sorry, bud." That last bit made Hiei glared at him intensely, then suddenly the short demon got bored again.

"Anyway," he continued, "this world is apparently one of those universes. This is amazing because the scientists haven't even come close to prove it, yet we're in one."

Kuwabara couldn't take it anymore, he screamed with all his might, "WHAAAAATTT? Are you saying we are stranded here in the middle of nowhere with no hope of coming back? I HAVE TO GO HOME! I CAN'T LEAVE MY LIFE BACK HOME!"

"Oh shut up, Kuwabara! I have a life too, you know. I have a good career and now it's all gone, thanks to your reunion!" Keiko retorted him.

"Don't blame me, how do I know we're gonna sucked by those blasted portals?!"

"ENOUGH!" Genkai shouted so loudly, silencing them all.

"Do you think screaming at each other would solve your problem? It would only give me a headache, and I hate it." Then she spoke to Hadvar, "Sorry for the interruption, kid. Please continue."

The Nord nodded and cleared his throat, "Thank you. Believe me, I am as surprised as you when I learn that you are travellers from another world. So, as I said, this continent, Tamriel, sits on the planet Nirn which exists in the mortal realm of Mundus. And as for your question earlier, we are in the middle of a civil war in Skyrim. I took a side with the Empire who wants to keep Skyrim as one of their provinces. But Ralof there chose Stormcloak, a group who wants to liberate Skyrim from the Empire. It creates complications as you see here. We were best friends since we were little. Yes, we have differences. He is always the muscle, I am the brain, but we did everything together. We played together, we went hunting together, we even pranked the elders together. But ever since the Stormcloak Rebellion, he never saw me as his friend anymore. I don't like having to fight him, but I have to be honest with my heart."

Yusuke and the others fell silent, unsure what to say. That until Kurama decided to speak, "Have you two talk about it?"

Hadvar shook his head, "Oh, believe me, I have. But he never use his reason even for a second, only his pride as a Nord."

Yusuke had enough. "Alright, that's it. We are trapped in this world, and dragged into your war is the last thing we need. So do you know how we can get back to our world?"

"Sadly, I don't. But you can ask around for help. Perhaps some mages with good conjuration skill can help you with that. For now, let's continue to Riverwood, shall we? Besides, it's not safe hanging around in the wild like this." Hadvar answered him confidently.

So they walked some more until they arrived at a turn with three monoliths on the left side of the road.

"Um, Mr. Hadvar, what are those?" Botan asked curiously.

Hadvar turned around to see what she was asking, "They are standing stones. Three of thirteen ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim's landscape. It will give certain power if you touch it. Why don't you try touching one, miss?"

Botan shook her head, "Nope, I don't want touch some old stones that may give infection, besides I'm not a fighter."

Kuwabara look at the stones, thinking about the possibility it may bring, he came closer to study it. One of the stone has a carving of a warrior wearing armor and holding a sword and a shield. Another has an old man with flowy robe, wielding a staff. The last stone showed a hooded figure with a knife, probably a thief or assassin. He stepped forward and put his hand on the warrior stone. Soon, a stream of light shot upwards to the sky from the stone and he felt a strange sensation.

Kurama couldn't contain his curiosity and examined the stones as well. After thinking for a moment, he finally chose the mage stone. Yusuke followed Kuwabara's example and touch the warrior stone.

Shizuru saw the boys told each other about how they felt after touching the stones, but one of them was still with girls. "Hiei, don't you want to take your part? Why don't you go there like them?"

Hiei responded her without even looking at her, "I don't need some power up to help me, human. I can restore my power to my former state just fine."

Shizuru rolled her eyes at the demon, feeling a bit of regret asking him.

Then Hadvar called them, "If you are done with stones, I suggest we get going. Riverwood is still two hours away, so let's go. The walk was long quiet for the most part, aside from one-liner exchanges between Yusuke and Kuwabara. The girls were admiring the tundra of Skyrim, how the mountains were still pure and pristine. Genkai was trying to sense more of her spirit energy for something only she knew. Kurama was busy picking local plants from the roadside, namely straberries, juniper berries, and grass pods. He was fascinated of how similar they looked to their Earth counterpart.

Finally two hours passed and they were greeted with the sight of the gate of the village. It's a quaint place with a small number of people. Some were tending the farm, some were washing their gardening equipment after a hard day's work, and some children were running around, playing with a dog. Seemed like something out of a postcard. But when they saw Kuwabara and his friends, they stopped whatever they were doing and looked at them as if they were trolls in human clothes. They tried to pay no attention to them and followed Hadvar who brought them to one of the houses to meet a man who was working in some kind of a forge.

"Uncle Alvor! Hello!" Hadvar called him.

The man called Alvor turned while still holding a tong and a hammer, "Hadvar? What are you doing here? Are you on leave from... Shor's bones, what happened to you, boy? Are you in some kind of trouble?" He put down his equipment and gave his nephew a warm hug and laughed.

Hadvar released himself from the hug, "Shh. Uncle, please. Keep your voice down. I'm fine. But we should go inside to talk."

Alvor felt puzzled, trying to figure out what his nephew was trying to do, "What's going on?" he said to Hadvar. Then he looked at a bunch of people who filled up the space of his forge, "And who are they?"

Hadvar put his hand on his uncle's shoulder to ease the tension, "Oh, they're my friends. Saved my life, in fact. Come on, I'll explain everything but we need to go inside."

Alvor eyed them with suspicion, then said to Hadvar, "Okay, okay. Come inside, then. Sigrid will get you something to eat, and you can tell me all about it."

He headed to his home just next to the forge and let Hadvar and his new friends in. Inside his wife, Sigrid, was just finished preparing for dinner when she saw her husband walked in with her beloved nephew.

"Sigrid! We have company!" Alvor called her.

"Hadvar! We've been so worried about you! Come, you two must be hungry. Sit down and I'll get you something to eat." Sigrid saw him and embraced him like her own son. Hadvar was a special one since her mother died due to illness when he was a wee lad and his father died as an Imperial officer in Cyrodiil during the Great War.

Hadvar introduced his friends to his uncle and aunt one by one, of course without spilling the fact that they were tourists from another world. He knew his uncle would see them as daedra and try to finish them off right there. Not that he worried about Kuwabara and the others, he worried more about Alvor.

With the introduction finished, Alvor get them back to the topic, "Now then, boy, what's the big mystery? What are you doing here looking like you lost an argument with a cave bear?"

Hadvar looked at his bruises and cuts, "I don't know where to start. You know I was assigned to General Tullius's guard. We were stopped in Helgen when we were attacked by...a dragon."

Alvor almost choked on his mead, "A dragon? That's ridiculous. You aren't drunk, are you boy?"

Sigrid folded his arms, she knew well her husband's habit of not trusting anyone, "Husband. Let him tell his story."

Hadvar continued his explanation, "Not much more to tell. The dragon flew over and just wrecked the whole place. Mass confusion. I don't know if anyone else got out alive. I doubt I'd have made it out if not for my friend here. Without their help, there'd be more blood on my armor here."

Alvor felt relieved knowing these strange looking fellows saved his nephew from Helgen. Skyrim was a tough place to live, but still, losing Hadvar would hit him like an orcish warhammer.

"I thank you all for saving my nephew. I... We are forever in your debt, strangers. Please accept this as a token of gratitude," he reached a drawer behind him. He opened it and took a coin satchel which contained 100 septims.

"Here, this is not much, but I hope it's enough to spend on whatever you need," he said as he handed the satchel. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Keiko was there and grabbed it from his hands.

"Oh, thank you, mister Alvor. Thank you for your kindness." Yusuke was stunned to see her so quick.

"Hey, how did you get there? I didn't see you move, Keiko. And... No, forget that. The thing is, we were the ones fighting, why do you have to take the reward?" Yusuke asked her and he was clearly quite upset.

Keiko replied to him with a smile before saying, "I'm sure you all are very skilled fighters and all that, but since we're going to be stuck here for a while, we need some cash, and women can manage the money better than men," she gave him a wink while showing the satchel to everyone.

Alvor cleared his throat to grabbed their attention back, "Well, it seems the women where you're from are not so different from here, hehehe," he laughed nervously after seeing Sigrid giving him a death glare.

With everyone started to get relaxed and the day's getting dark, Hadvar decided to give them what they really wanted, "Uncle, it's getting dark now. Do you mind if they stay for the night here in Riverwood?"

"Of course! Any friend of Hadvar's is a friend of mine. I'd be glad to help however I can. Some of you can stay with me and Sigrid, Hadvar, or you can go to the inn. Delphine will be pleased to get some guests," Alvor told them and then paused a bit. This made them aware there was a 'but' in there.

"I know you've been in trouble enough, but please allow me to ask you one more favor," he continued. "I need you help. We need your help. The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenseless. You need to get a word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever soldiers he can. If you do this for me, I'll be in your debt."

They thought long and hard about his request. Agreeing to help him meant they had to leave the small town and who knew what would happened if they did. The next word they said must be considered carefully. Feeling the responsibility again after all these years, Yusuke stepped forward.

"Don't worry too much. We know exactly how terrible the dragon really is. We won't let Riverwood have the same fate as Helgen. We'll do what we can to help you, I promise."

Alvor smiled happily, "Thank you, young lad. I appreciate that." Then they dispersed to their respective place.

But before going, Hadvar made a stop to speak to Alvor, "Thank you, uncle, for everything. If you please, I need to get back to Solitude and let them know what's happened."

Alvor watched him as he rested his hands on the waist, "Going so soon, eh? Can't you just get a rest a little bit?"

"Oh, come on now. Don't worry about me. I can stop at any village in Whiterun or Markarth. By the way, did you see Ralof before we came here?" Hadvar asked him.

"That man, I saw him talking to Gerdur. I overheard a few words about dragons, but I didn't believe him. I thought he drank too much mead," Alvor said.

"Is he still here?"

"I'm afraid he left shortly before you came. To Windhelm, I think. He's a true Stormcloak."

Hadvar rolled his eyes at his friend's stubbornness, at this rate he really had to kill him the next time they met. "Well, I guess I should get going then. Thanks again, uncle."

They grabbed each other's arms to show their care. Hadvar was taking two steps before turning back, "Oh by the way, I told them they can use anything in my house, so can you make sure they won't light my house on fire or something?"

Alvor was taken aback at such question, why did they do something like that?

"Why are you asking that, son? Are they mages?" he asked.

Hadvar waved his hand to reject such notion, "Nothing, just a hunch, maybe. They're a rowdy bunch, you know," he said with a grin.

After that, he opened the door to face the long walk to Solitude in solitude, trying to find his way to stop this war. But his mind was still thinking about the dragon. Were there others like it? If so, why did they come back? So many questions flying in his head. He decided to put them aside at the moment to get to the nearest resting place so he could end the day in peace.

* * *

"Hooray! A warm bed, finally. Oh, I miss you so much!" Botan jumped onto the bed with glee. She, Keiko, Yukina and Shizuru were staying at Alvor and Sigrid's house, while Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei shared Hadvar's house. Genkai decided she was going to stay at the inn. The barkeeper, Orgnar, was nice to charge her 15 septims for a room and a free dinner for the night.

While watching Botan resting her head on the pillow, Shizuru reviewed their situation, "So it seems we're stuck here for who knows how long. Do we really have no way out of here? This place is nothing like Japan."

Keiko felt concerned too because she feared for her safety and future, "I hope Genkai and the boys come with something. We have to admit we are useless at this sort of thing."

She fell silent for a moment, remembering how Yusuke had to save her multiple times, then she grabbed the sheet in anger, "Why? Why are we so weak? Why do we become burdens for our friends?"

Botan sat straight quickly after hearing those harsh words, "Keiko, why are saying something like that? They may be strong heroes and they may face many strong opponents, but we help them along the way, remember?"

"Except me, Botan! You have your gizmos and connection to Koenma. Genkai is a master of spirit energy. Yukina is an ice demon and she can heal injuries, no offense. Even Shizuru has a sensitivity to spirit energy. But when can I do? I'm just a damsel in distress, waiting to be saved. What can I do to help, Botan? I don't really know." Keiko couldn't hold back her tears anymore. The thought of being the weakest of them all was indeed depressing. Few could escape from it, many ended in tragedy.

Shizuru hold her shoulder to comfort her, "Keiko, I don't know if this helps, but... When we were kids, Kazuma was always and still is the one with high level of energy. I could never keep up with his activity and it made me down. Frankly, that was the reason why I started to smoke to relieve the stress. But my mother used to tell me this. She said that everything has a purpose in life no matter how small they are. Even the tiniest ants have their role to play. I know you just started to live a full life with your own career. Getting thrown into this mess do sucks, but try to see the big picture. I'm sure you will find your place in this world, if we can't go back."

Keiko turned around to see one of her best friends. Usually people were just throwing mediocre advices to her, even Yusuke. That man were not known for being romantic. But getting it from Shizuru was kinda different. That woman seldom spoke a lot, she was more of an observant. But when she did, she really meant it and that's why her words calmed her down.

Then she felt her hand being touched by none other than Yukina who gave her a gentle look, "Don't be afraid, Keiko. We are your friends and we will never abandon you. We're in this together and we will face everything as one."

Her heart melted as she hugged Yukina with love. It was a very good time to have friends that supported you. Then Botan told them something unexpected, "Actually, Keiko, your rant just reminded me. I still have one of my gizmos here."

She reached through her pocket and took something out of it, "Tada! The communication mirror! Since you said ee are stuck here, I can try to contact Koenma using this. So... oof," she couldn't finished her explanation because Keiko yanked her collars.

"Why didn't you say so?! If you were not so dumb, we wouldn't have to get caught by that army and face the dragon that almost burned us alive! Come on, what are you waiting for? Just call your boss!"

Before Botan could reply, they heard the door knocked three times and Sigrid's voice was heard behind the door, "Is everything alright, ladies? I heard shouting and I am worried. Are you okay?"

Yukina quickly tried to convince her that nothing happened, "We're fine, Mrs. Sigrid. It's just uh... We have a problem with the wardrobe."

The door was opened and Sigrid took a peek, "Should I come in, girls? I can give a fashion advice if you need one..."

"No, it's not something like that. The wardrobe is stuck, it won't opened. That's all," Shizuru cut her quickly, preventing her to see the strange device in Botan's hand.

"Oh, I know that thing is broken for too long. I asked Alvor to fix it, but he keeps avoiding it. Don't worry, I'll get him to help you," Sigrid suggested.

"NO!" The four girls yelled at the same time, then Botan explained, "We managed to opened it now, Ma'am. With our strength combine, nothing is impossible, right? Right? Hahahaha..."

Accepting their answer, Sigrid slowly closed the door and started to leave them, "Alright then, but you better turn in for the night. It's getting late."

"Okay, Mrs. Sigrid, good night," Botan shouted gleefully.

Sigrid walked down the hallway and muttered to herself, "Hmm, maybe this is what it's like to have daughters. I wonder how Alvor reacts to this." As she climbed to her bed and laid beside Alvor who was fast asleep, she thought of their guests. She knew almost nothing about them, but somehow deep in her heart, they were no ordinary people. Maybe the Divines whispered to her, or perhaps it's just her imagination again.

 **A/N: I'm sorry, everyone, if I took too much time to update. For a couple of months, I just lost the will to write. But do not worry, this story is not discontinued. But I will give you the next update after I update my other story, The General & The Priest, please check it out if you want. Thank you for your patience.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Yu Yu Hakusho. The titles belong to Bethesda and Yoshihiro Togashi respectively.**

Chapter 5: To Whiterun

Yusuke woke up the next morning on Hadvar's bed. While sitting on the bed, he yawned and stretch his body. He opened his eyes and smelled something from another room. He walked there and saw Kurama cooking something in some sort of a cooking pot over the fire.

"Good morning, Chef Kurama. What's the breakfast?" he asked him mockingly.

Kurama stirred the content, then tapped the ladle on the side, "Good morning, Yusuke. I found some ingredients in the pantry and decided to make us a simple chicken soup. I think that's a good thing since all of you can't cook anything."

"Well, thank you, Masterchef Kurama. Where would we be without you?" Yusuke complimented him with an exaggerated bow.

Kurama rolled his eyes in annoyance, he forgot how asshole Yusuke could be. "You want the soup or not? I can always give it to a dog outside."

A new voice yelled from the next room, "If he wanna be starving, then give it to me! I can eat three bowls of soup in no time." Kuwabara came out from his bedroom with drowsy eyes and he covered himself in a thick fur blanket because let's be honest, Skyrim was ice cold.

"Hey, back in line, carrot head! I was here first, and you'll get yours after I get mine, get it?" Yusuke barked at him, then grabbed a nearby bowl and took his place in front of Kurama who plated the soup gently.

After they had their breakfast, they went out of the house to see the village. It was a nice, quaint village with decent people who worked early in the morning to make ends meet. There's Alvor who worked as a blacksmith, there's Gerdur, Hod and Faendal who kept the mill spinning, they met Frodnar who always played with his dog, Stump. The boys minus Hiei whi left the village before dawn to hunt some meat, eventually bumped into the girls who were going to the Sleeping Giant Inn where Genkai spent the night. They all went in and saw some residents having their breakfast before going to work. They gathered thete to discuss about what could they do to return home. Keiko told them about Botan's communication mirror and had them try it. But their spirit was broken when they found out that the mirror transmitted nothing. Cut off from their homeworld meant they got no chance to go home. But Botan wouldn't accept their fate just like that, she came up with some theories that maybe the mirror was broken or there was too much interference between the two worlds, so she determined to try and fix the mirror.

After the discussion, they mingled among the residents to get to know them better since they would be their neighbors for undetermined time. For the most part, they learned about the different races in Tamriel. They were fascinated about the elves since they only existed in fantasy works on Earth, but when they heard about the Khajiit, their excitement went to the next level. Cats were adored in Japanese culture, so knowing there was a race of anthropomorphic cat really made them curious. The girls were quick to get new friends, among them were Faendal the Bosmer who stopped by to get a quick meal. He told them his feeling for a local trader, Camilla Valerius and asked for their help to win her heart from Sven, the obnoxious bard who happened to be singing to entertain the customers.

While the girls were busy with that love triangle thing, Kuwabara and Yusuke chose to go to the shop, owned by Lucan Valerius, Camilla's brother. They brought weapons that they looted in Helgen and they wanted to sell them. Kuwabara opened the door and the two were welcomed with an argument between the siblings.

"Well one of us has to do something!"

"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!"

"Well what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!"

"We are done talking about this!" Lucas threw his hands up in the air in frustration before he noticed the presence of Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Oh, a customer. Sorry you had to hear that."

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at each other in awkwardness, it looked like they had interrupted a family argument. "Um, is this a bad time? We can go back later after you guys finish whatever you're talking about," said Yusuke who was ready to leave the shop.

Lucan got out from behind the counter to stop him from leaving, "No, no, please, I don't know what you overheard, but the Riverwood Trader is still open, feel free to shop."

They decided to keep shopping, though reluctantly. The sold items gave them several septims to be added to their inventory. While handing an iron dagger to be appraised, Yusuke asked Camelia in hushed tones, "What happened back there, ma'am? Is there a problem?"

Camilla took the dagger and gave him 10 septims, "It's my stubborn brother, we have a break-in last night and I suggested him to send a mercenary to get the thief. But he doesn't want to do that, saying it's unnecessary," she said, glaring to Lucan next to him who was helping Kuwabara.

"Yes, we did have a bit of a... break-in," Lucan attempted to explain the situation, "But we still have plenty to sell. Robbers were only after one thing. An ornament, solid gold. In the shape of a dragon's claw. The damage can be covered by other items here, in fact, you already did, by selling your wares."

"Wait a minute, rewind, did you just say gold? I know nothing about jewellery, but I know gold is a precious metal. It must have a pretty damn good value to you. What do you say if bring it back to you, hmm?" Right now Yusuke knew they could use some money and if his fighting skil could be put to use, it would be perfect. He really missed his days as the spirit detective.

Lucan wasn't sure what to say, he looked at his sister to get her opinion to which he got an approval nod. "You could? I'd be grateful if I can get the claw back. I've got some coin coming in from my last shipment. It's yours if you bring my claw back. If you're going after those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, northeast of town."

The name caught Kuwabara's attention as he remembered what Hadvar told him, "Bleak Falls Barrow? Isn't that the place that gives Hadvar creeps? What is that place, exactly?"

Lucan began to explain, "It's a burial complex where ancient dead Nords were laid to rest. I've never been there, you see, but I heard bandits like to stay in there, so you better watch yourself, kid. If you don't know the way, I'll be happy to be your guide."

Yusuke came forward and raised his finger, "Please wait a second, sir. I'll be right back." As he went to the door, Kuwabara asked him, "Hey, where are you going, Urameshi,?"

Yusuke stopped and turned his head, "Taking Kurama with us, he'll be more useful fighting those thieves than wasting time here," then he was out of the shop.

A few minutes later, he was back with Kurama who wore a piece of leather tunic, similar to the one worn by Faendal. Kuwabara wondered if he took it from Hadvar's wardrobe.

Lucan was standing there and ready to travel. Although he didn't bring much, he took his trusty steel dagger with him. "I believe he explained to you about the plan, right? If you're ready, then let's be off!" he said confidently.

They were out of the shop and started walking to the wild. A female voice was heard within an earshot, "Yusuke, where are you going?"

It was Keiko who was followed by Botan, Shizuru, Genkai and Yukina. "Are you trying to leave us here, is that what you think?" she demanded.

"Why are you thinking like that? We're just trying to help a good citizen to take back his stolen treasure. That's all. And don't worry, we have more than enough muscles to defend ourselves. We will come back here in the same state as we are now," Yusuke said, boasting.

"Don't forget about your promise to Alvor that you'll warn the jarl about the dragon," said Genkai who had been silent up to the point.

Yusuke put his hands on the hips, "Relax, old hag, we are going there first. We just want to know where these thieves are hiding so that we don't need to backtrack here. And oh, can you keep them save while we're gone?" he asked, pointing at the citizens.

Genkai scowled and folded her arms, "Just leave, you smug bastard. I don't need you to spoil my day with your bragging."

* * *

The four were walking in straight line with Lucan in the front, followed by Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama at the rear. They just crossed the bridge near Riverwood and now they were on the road to Whiterun. Moments later Lucan stopped and pointed at the massive barrow he mentioned earlier. The three warriors gazed through the fog and saw its arches high on the mountain. After that, Lucan was about to head back to Riverwood, but someone jumped down from a tree right in front of him.

"Hey, back off! Don't mess with me, highwayman, if you're here for my coins, you can forget it right Lucan barked at him.

"I'm not after your worthless coins, old man. I'm here for them," the figure said in the toneless voice.

Then Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara came running at Lucan, "Hiei! Where have you been?" the demon fox asked the midget demon.

"I was just back after having some breakfast, the venison wasn't so bad," Hiei answered with his usual calm tone.

Lucan drew his dagger at him, definitely feeling uneasy, "Who is this guy? Friend of yours? I don't know about you guys, but he looks shady to me."

Yusuke stepped forward to explain, "He's a friend, Lucan, and he always looks like that, trust me. Just go home now, we can take over from here."

Lucan stepped back slowly and sheathed his dagger before running back to Riverwood. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama faced their little friend, "You know, I thought you were gone for good. What did you do actually?" asked Yusuke.

"I told you, I went hunting early in the morning. Living in a community is not for me," Hiei said, leaning on a tree. "If you don't believe me, you can go there and find the carcass of the deer and a small firecamp, it was still warm when I left it."

They looked at each other to decide whether or not they found out the truth. Then Kurama spoke, "No, I believe you. It seems after all these years, you haven't changed at all, friend." Hiei released an annoyed 'huh' at that comment. He saw Kurama as his best friend, but sometimes he didn't like his warm attitude towards him.

Seeing the mystery of Hiei's missing cleared, Kuwabara put them back in the subject, "Anyway, we are going to the city of Whiterun to warn the local ruler about the dragon attack. Do you wanna join us?"

Hiei thought for a moment, it had been so long since he fought together with them. Usually he spent his days wandering the woods in Japan to hunt for food, so he wasn't sure if he wanted this. But he couldn't deny the fact that his sword yearned for more blood than his breakfast. "As long as I can kill, I don't mind," he answered shortly as they made their way to Whiterun.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky when they left the forest. They came to a plain with nothing but grass. After several minutes of walking, they heard sounds of metal clashing, signaling a fight. They rushed to the source of the sounds to find something they never thought possible. Three persons battling a giant who stood at least three times their height. The giant was armed with a massive bone club and it tried to smash those three. One of them, a woman with long red hair moved with fire that matched her hair, while two men who were with her charged the giant with strong attacks to wear it down.

Yusuke leaped from the ground and pop punched the giant in the chest, making it staggered. Hiei helped him and slashed its legs with blinding speed. Kurama tried to summon his Rose Whip and used it to grab the club, preventing the giant from bashing the trio to a pulp. But the giant was too strong, it pull the club and the whip snapped, making Kurama fell on his butt. Kuwabara, who didn't want to be left behind, attacked with his iron sword, since his spirit energy wasn't enough to make his Spirit Sword. He evaded being struck by moving left and right, then lunged forward to launch the counterattack.

Their teamwork made it difficult for the giant to hit a single target. It swung the club sideways, forcing the warriors to duck. It gave an opportunity for the giant to came towards the closest combatant who happened to be Yusuke. It raised his heavy club high and dropped it on Yusuke. The mechanic put his hands up to block the attack. When the club met his hands, the force pushed him down and created a crater around his feet. Kuwabara charged and stabbed the giant's foot with his sword, making it roared in pain. The giant retaliated by stomping him, but he jumped to the side to dodge it. Hiei attacked the wobbly giant from behind by stabbing its back. The giant waved its free arm wildly to reach Hiei, but the demon was hiding perfectly on its wide back, and his small stature didn't help the giant at all. Meanwhile Kurama was waiting for the right moment to make his second attempt. The giant leaned forward, the head was at its closest to the ground.

"Hiei, jump!" Kurama told him, as he wrapped his whip around the giant's neck, and pulled it hard. Yusuke's instinct kicked in, he clenched his fist tightly and gave the giant a powerful uppercut to its jaw which broke the vertebrae, killing the giant as it landed with a loud bump.

"Oh, man! That is awesome! I can't believe how good beating someone's ass feels like!" Yusuke exclaimed with joy as the three fighters who they saw earlier met them.

"I admit you lot are pretty good fighters. Especially you,"the female pointed at Yusuke.

Yusuke smiled proudly, or perhaps cocky, "I heard that a lot, but thanks anyway."

Kuwabara sheathed his sword and asked her, "Uh, may I ask who are you, people and what are you doing here, fighting that behemoth?"

The female folded her arms and explained themselves, "My name is Aela the Huntress, this is Farkas and Vilkas, and we are members of Companions. We are here because someone wants us to get rid of the giant from their farm."

"What is Companions exactly?" Yusuke asked her.

The man with long hair, called Farkas, asked him in surprise, "You haven't heard about us? Where do you live, under a rock? We're the most famous group of fighters in all Tamriel."

Yusuke could feel his blood pressure rising. This guy was like any other snobbish kid who hanged around in an exclusive club. Back when he was at school, kids like him usually ended up getting his butt kicked by Yusuke. But Aela quickly took control of the situation, "Don't be so rude, Farkas. If they haven't heard about us, then they must came from some foreign country, am I right?" She directed the question to Yusuke and his group.

Yusuke nodded and continued, trying not to roll his eyes, "That's right. Your club sounds awesome. Do you beat people up on daily basis and make a living from that?"

"Yes, as I said, the owner of this farm will pay us good amount of money for doing his request. You should join if you want. We could use a skilled fighter like you. You can take your friends too, you guys will be most welcomed."

"And I'll gladly accept it. What crazy person would refuse an offer to fight people for money?" Yusuke punched his palm in excitement.

"I'll be that person, Urameshi. Have you forgotten about the reason why we're here?" Kuwabara asked him.

"I thought we came here to warn a ruler about the dragon, not to join a social club," Hiei added.

"Oh come on, guys. You are not fun. Kuwabara, don't you miss swinging your sword at your enemies? And Hiei, don't like to kill some miserable fools? How about you, Kurama? Surely working in a lab is boring. Don't you wanna feel the thrill of combat again?"

"Maybe I'll do it after the dragon is dealt with," Kuwabara spoke up his mind.

Hiei just shrugged, "I don't play well with others."

"Their fighting style is just not my cup of tea, sorry, I'll pass," said Kurama.

Hearing their rejection sank Yusuke's spirit, "Fine! It's your loss! Don't come crying if you change your mind." He faced Aela once again, " How do I sign up?"

She pointed at a city in the distance, "Just go to Whiterun over there. Inside, head to Jorrvaskr, it's a longhouse, you can't miss it. Tell them I send you. With a brawler like you, you'll give Njada a run for her money. Such a shame your friends miss the opportunity. I see two swordsmen and a... whipmaster." She talked to Kurama with genuine interest, "People here only use whip on horses and cattle. No one ever think to use it as a weapon. You could even make your own fighting style."

Then she called Farkas and Vilkas, telling them to leave. When Yusuke asked her where they were going, she said they had to deal with bandits somewhere. So the four warriors continued on their way to Whiterun. They just needed a few hours to reach the city. It stood out against the grassy plain and had stone walls around it. When they approached the wooden gate, a man in a suit of armor who they presumed to be a guard stopped them.

"Hold right there. The city is closed with the dragons about."

Kuwabara was stunned when he heard that, "Wait a minute, how did you know about the dragon before we are here?"

"There is a rumor about a dragon attacking people. The Jarl ordered us to close the city, no one can come in or out."

"And how is your wall supposed to help you? You do realize dragons can fly, don't you?" Kurama asked.

"Uh... I..."

"Well?"

"What's your business here, anyway?"

"We need to warn the Jarl about the dragon because we saw it ourselves. Now, unless you want people killed, you will let us in," Kuwabara scolded him.

"Okay then, your business is with the Jarl. Just head to Dragonsreach, it's the highest building in the city. Can't miss it."

They thanked the guard and proceeded into the city. When the gate was opened, the first thing they saw was hundreds of people flooding the street. Further inside the city, there were more activities to be seen. Blacksmiths were working with their metal, creating a symphony of metal clashing. Street vendors shouting their goods, and the buyers flocked around them like bees on their hive. Kuwabara asked a woman where the Dragonreach was and she directed him upstairs to the next level.

As they reach the area called Wind District by the locals, a new sight greeted them. A tall tree with large branches stood in middle of the district. Some leaves hanged by the branches, but most parts of the tree were burnt. Kurama couldn't hide his fascination when he saw it. He imagined how beautiful the tree previously.

They continued to the next section while ignoring the rambling of a man who was shouting about a guy named Talos. They climbed another set of stairs on top of a pool and arrived to a massive wooden building. The guards opened the gate for them and let them in. The warm air hit their body who had been battered by the cold air of Skyrim. The high ceiling and grand pillars inspired awe in their mind, whoever lived there must be very important, powerful and rich. They kept walking inside until they reached the throne room with a long fireplace and a U-shaped table around it. At the end of the room, on the throne, a man in regal clothing slouched while listening to a man who was standing next to him.

As they approached him, a female Dunmer in leather armor stood between them and the throne, drawing her sword.

"What is the meaning of this interruption? The Jarl is not receiving any visitors."

Kuwabara stepped forward to explain, "We are here to warn the Jarl about the dragon attack in Helgen."

The Jarl was now stopped his conversation with the man next to him, supposedly his steward and talked to his bodyguard, "It's all right, Irileth. I want to hear what they have to say."

Irileth sheathed her weapon, "Step forward in front of the Jarl, and please keep your weapons sheathed in the Jarl's presence.

The four now stood before him, one next to another. The Jarl watched them carefully and started the conversation, "Welcome to Whiterun and my palace, Dragonsreach, strangers. I am Jarl Balgruuf. So tell me. You were at Helgen? You saw this dragon with your own eyes?"

Kuwabara cleared his throat before telling him what happened, "The dragon destroyed Helgen. And now Riverwood is in great danger as the creature headed this way the last time I saw it."

The Jarl readjusted his sitting position because of the shock, "By Ysmir, Irileth was right!" Then he turned to his steward, "What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?"

Irileth came closer to him, "My lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once. It's in the most immediate danger, if that dragon is lurking in the mountains..."

"The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation! He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him," Proventus cut her quickly.

"Enough! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once," Balgruuf said, having tired of his steward's constant objection.

"Yes, my Jarl," Irileth bowed stiffly.

"We should not..."

"I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people!" Balgruuf barked at Proventus as he was about to open his mouth.

Proventus smiled sheepishly, "If you'll excuse me, I'll return to my duties."

Balgruuf gave him a glare as he watched him left the court, "That would be best." Then he directed his attention to Kuwabara and the others who were watching the scene unfolded, "Well done. You sought me out, on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it. Here, take this as a small token of my esteem." Balgruuf signaled one of his subordinates to hand Kuwabara a piece of fur armor. Kuwabara accepted it and looked slightly overwhelmed by the gift. Soon Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei teased him, causing a minor commotion in the palace, which irritated Irileth greatly.

Balgruuf then got up the throne and talked to them, effectively stopping their shenanigans, "There is another thing you could do for me. Suitable for people of your particular talents, perhaps. Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and... rumors of dragons."

They followed him to the adjacent room and entered what looked like to be some sort of a lab as Balgruuf told them a bit about his court wizard, "Farengar is probably puttering around in his lab. Day and night. I'm not sure he ever sleeps." Kurama chuckled inside as he got the similarity with himself.

When they arrived at the office/lab, they saw someone sitting and writing something on the paper. "Farengar, I think I've found some people who can help you with your dragon project. Go ahead and fill them in with all the details," Balgruuf called him.

The wizard stopped scribbling and stood up. He looked at the group while maintaining his expression, "So the Jarl thinks you can be of use to me? Oh yes, he must be referring to my research into the dragons. Yes, I could use someones to fetch something for me."

"Hey, that sounds easy enough. We just need to pick up something for you, right? Well, consider it done, buddy," Yusuke said confidently. But the wizard corrected him soon.

"Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not actually be there."

"What? So you don't know if we will find it? Are you kidding?" Yusuke asked him.

Farengar replied calmly as any scholar everywhere, "You have to understand, I only started this research days ago when rumors about the dragon reached my ears, and there was no dragon for a long time, so our knowledge is very limited. On top of that, the stone tablet is in Bleak Falls Barrow where only bandits and marauders go there."

"No one in Whiterun is allowed to leave the city for their sake, but you four are strangers and you say you saw the dragon yourselves. I think if you can escape from its jaw, a place full of bandits will be the least of your problem," Balgruuf added his own reasoning.

Kurama was taken aback when he heard where they were gonna go, so he pushed through from behind Kuwabara to try and give a piece of his thought, "Did you just say Bleak Falls Barrow?"

Farengar nodded, "Yes, why?"

"It's nothing, it's just someone in Riverwood wanted us to go there to find him something, a jewellery. So I think we may as well go there to help him. Two birds with one stone."

Balgruuf rubbed his chin, "I don't mind if you're getting sidetracked. Just don't take too long, I don't know how the stone will help us, but Farengar thinks it's important."

"It is important, my Jarl. I can assure you the stone will be put in good use," said the wizard.

Yusuke sighed, he hated being told to fetch something uncertain, but it seemed there was no choice other than doing it, especially if they could find Lucan's lost heirloom in the same place. It'd be much better than having to travel to another dungeon.

"Alright, I think it's settled. We'll find this stone you're looking for. But what we need now is a place to rest. We've been traveling all day, so I hope you can point us an inn," Yusuke demanded.

"And a map if it's not too much asking. We don't like getting lost on our way there," Kurama begged.

The Jarl smiled heartily, "As the jarl of Whiterun, I'll be glad to say that Bannered Mare is the best inn in the city. Please stay there, have a nice rest for you have important task. As for the map, I can give you one from my own stash. I think I have them too many."

They thanked the Jarl for the map and proceeded to go outside. But Kurama stopped by Farengar who was about to resume his work, "It's a nice office you're having. The Jarl said you're a wizard. Are there people like you here?"

Farengar put down his quill on the table, "Thank you. Well, of course, magic is not exclusive to one person. People with sufficient magicka pool can cast a spell and be called a mage. Are you interested to become a mage?"

"Where I come from there are not many magic practitioners, this is something I've never seen before. If I want to study magic, where should I go?" Kurama inquired.

Farengar was genuinely impressed, not many people in Skyrim wanted anything to do with magic, let alone studying it. Oblivion Crisis that happened more than 200 years ago was to blame.

"If you're so eager, you should check the College of Winterhold. They have the best magic teachers and lessons in Skyrim. I was one of their students and because of my good score, the Jarl hired me to be his court wizard as you see now," Farengar promoted his former campus and he felt a little bit proud of it.

"I will, thank you for the information, Farengar." Kurama was about to head to the door when he smelled something. "Is that lavender?"

Farengar ran to his alchemy table where smoke could be seen rising from a glass apparatus. "No, my potion!"

Kurama rushed to his side, "What happened?"

Farengar took a flask and dumped its content to a bucket, "My potion is burned. I forgot to turn the fire off when the Jarl introduced you. Now I have to start over," he said as he picked up a bunch of lavender from the drawer.

Kurama gazed at the variety of ingredients Farengar had and it sparked his curiosity. "I see you're brewing some potion, it looks exciting."

Farengar sighed, "If you're into this sort of thing, you should check Arcadia right across Bannered Mare. She is more skillful in alchemy than me. See, I told Irileth I have more experience in enchanting, but she won't listen."

Farengar's complaint was soon followed by a yell from the next room, "Farengar, where is my potion?! You're 30 minutes late!"

Kurama, sensing a problem ahead, head to the door after thanking Farengar politely, making Farengar more nervous, "What? No! I mean, yes. Please give me more time. This is a delicate process!"

Kurama joined Kuwabara, Yusuke and Hiei in the hall, then they exited the palace with the map and started locating Bannered Mare which was not so hard as it was the biggest building in Plain District. The day was getting dark, so they decided against traveling at night and they rented a room for the night. Kurama handed the barkeeper named Hulda, a nice lady, the coins as they headed to an empty room. Inside they had a light snack, while Kurama studied the map to get to know their world better. Finally he could see the shape of the land they were on. The land of the north with lots of mysteries waiting to be found and they were going to explore to one of them tomorrow. For now, they could rest and enjoy the moment, because tomorrow, the secret it contained would change the life of everyone in Tamriel.

A/N: It's power level time!

I'm gonna change the level of Skyrim NPC a little bit to make it believable. For example, I'm not gonna put Arngeir on level 150 because that way, he will be stronger than Alduin which is ridiculous lorewise. Alduin is supposed to be stronger than anyone in Skyrim, except TLB. I'm also gonna downgrade YYH characters back to the bottom and make them climb the ladder slowly so that Yusuke won't blow up a mountain with the S-class powered spirit gun at the beginning of the story. To bridge the power level between YYH and Skyrim, I make this conversion table. Please feel free to give me your opinion and reviews!

1-10: E Class

11-20: D Class

21-50: C Class

51-80: B Class

81-100: A Class

Above 100: S Class

Yusuke: Level 8 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Kuwabara: Level 6 (skyrim)/E class (YYH)

Kurama: Level 8 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Hiei: Level 8 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Genkai: Level 4 (skyrim)/E class (YYH)

Yukina: Level 3 (skyrim)/E- class (YYH)

Botan: Level 1 (skyrim)/E- class (YYH)

Keiko: Level 1 (skyrim)/E- class (YYH)

Shizuru: Level 1 (skyrim)/E- class (YYH)

Giant: Level 32 (skyrim)/C class (YYH)

Aela: Level 8 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Farkas & Vilkas: Level 7 (skyrim)/E class (YYH)

Farengar: Level 10 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Alduin: Level 80 (skyrim)/B+ class (YYH)


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Yu Yu Hakusho. The titles belong to Bethesda and Yoshihiro Togashi respectively.**

 **Hi, everyone! I'm back with the new chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **To Baoh joestar: Yes, I have a plan for some of the side quests that are important for character development and plot. So we'll see about that. Now please enjoy your chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Getting Acquaintance

The night finally set in and Bannered Mare suddenly became full of activities. The guests were dancing around the fire as they enjoyed the mead and the dinner. That was when the heroes of Earth decided to get some fresh air. Yusuke visited Jorrvaskr as recommended where he asked them to join. He was quite impressed by the architecture of the building that resembled an upside down ship. Once he opened the front door, he heard the sound of a fight, hand to hand fight to be precise. His head turned to the source of the sound and he found a woman and a dark elf beating each other up. At the corner, a bald man was heard commenting on the brawl, "Are those two at it again?"

Yusuke dismissed the man and kept watching the fight which eventually was won by the woman after giving the elf a deep punch to his forehead, making him tumbled down on his butt. Yusuke watched the slender woman left the elf who was touching his bloody eye and nose. Seeing the brawl was over, he approached the bald man.

"Your fight club seems cool. May I join you?" asked Yusuke.

The bald man looked up and saw this skinny kid with no weapon standing in front of him. "This is not a fight club, whelp. This is Companions, the most respected warriors in Skyrim. Now tell me, who are you?"

Yusuke felt insulted by his remark. How dare this guy call him whelp? He couldn't wait to show him the power of his punch.

"My name is Yusuke Urameshi. I came from a distant country, but where I'm from, I'm one of the best fighters you can have," he said as he pointed at his chest with his thumb.

The bald man folded his arms, "That remains to be seen, boy. There'll be a test of strength, but I doubt you will pass."

Yusuke didn't like it when people underestimating him, so he decided to give the man his "portfolio".

"Actually, three of your members happened to be eyewitnesses of my mettle when I took down a giant. The redhead girl and a twin brother, I think. The girl gave me the recommendation to join you," Yusuke said with a smug grin. He left out the detail about Kurama, Kuwabara and Hiei on purpose to make him look even tougher.

"Taking down a giant? That's quite impressive. A redhead? That must be Aela. If she believed you would be a good candidate for the next Shield-brother, why not? Just head downstairs and speak with old man Kodlak. He'll decide if you meet the cut, by the way, the name is Skjor," the bald man said, as he tilted his head to the stairs.

After nodding at Skjor, Yusuke walked around the long table and equally long fireplace, and headed to the basement. Inside, he wandered from one room to another to find this Kodlak. He was going to enter a room when he heard someone called him.

"Are you lost, boy?"

He turned around and saw an old man with white beard and heavy-looking body armor, sitting on a chair.

"Sorry, I'm looking for someone. Are you Kodlak by the chance?" he asked the man.

"The one and only. I'm Kodlak Whitemane, the Harbinger of the Companions. Now what is your business here?" said Kodlak as he looked at the young man.

Yusuke stood firm before telling him the reason he was there, "One of your crew, Aela, suggested me to join Companions after I defeated a giant outside the city, and I think I'll be a great addition to your men." He said it confidently to make a good first impression. He learned this after many failures in the job interviews he was in.

Kodlak rubbed his beard while thinking about whether or not he must accepted Yusuke.

"Like all members of Companions, you must pass the test. Tell me, what's your weapon of choice, sword, axe, mace?"

Yusuke showed him his fist before answering, "Hah! I never use a weapon in my life. It's clumsy and awkward. The only weapon I trust are my own fists. They never disappoint me."

Kodlak chuckled when he heard him, "I like your bravery, lad. But that's crazy talk. How can you defend yourself from being attacked with swords? No matter how strong you are, steel is harder than bone."

Yusuke wasn't afraid or intimidated. He took Kodlak's opinion as a challenge instead.

"Why don't we just prove it? Bring your best fighter to fight me and I'll make him eat the dust."

Kodlak was surprised to see Yusuke ready to fight without a weapon. But he really wanted to see what he was made of. So he brought Yusuke to the backyard and called someone to test him.

"Come here!" said Kodlak to the mysterious figure. Moments later, Yusuke saw a bulky woman in heavy greenish armor walked to Kodlak. She was huge and scary. The scar in her face was a sign of a seasoned fighter.

Kodlek smirked and stood by her, "Let me explain the rules. You said you prefer the brawl style combat. So here I have Uthgerd The Unbroken who will test you. She's the best hand to hand fighter we ever had, even better than Njada. Perhaps you saw her fight when you walked in. If you can defeat ger without magic, I will accept you as one of the shield-brothers." Then he looked at Uthgerd, "Do you mind?"

The female warrior sneered, "Of course. I've got no hard feelings for you. As long as you pay me some coins."

"Sure, and sorry for snatching you from Bannered Mare at this hour." Kodlak then told them to start fighting when they were ready.

Uthgerd took a stance and raised her hands, while Yusuke remained calm. He was only allowed to use is body strength, so he won't be using his spirit energy in this fight, even though he didn't know if spirit energy was the same thing as magic.

Suddenly Uthgerd came charging at him and sent him a strong punch, but Yusuke dodged it, took a sidestep and gave the counterattack to her face. Uthgerd brushed it off like it was nothing, "You got a mean swing, kid. That's nice, but it wasn't enough to bring me down. Hyaargh!"

The two clashed again and exchanged blows to face and body. Uthgerd was strong and her attack was amplified by her armor, but it also slowed her down. Meanwhile, Yusuke was faster to attack and block. He also moved a lot to make it difficult for her to hit him. At the end, the fight became too heavy for Uthgerd. She was hanging on the last drop of stamina as she tried to connect her punches to Yusuke's jaw. Seeing her hand was slower now, Yusuke ducked and swiped her legs, causing her to fall down.

"Do you give up?" Yusuke asked her as she panted.

"Never... I... will... break... you..." her voice trailed off until she finally passed out.

Kodlak clapped his hands to congratulate Yusuke, "Well done! I've never seen Uthgerd defeated this way. She was always the best brawler among us."

Yusuke smiled, feeling great after beating the boxer in Whiterun, "I guess she's not unbroken anymore."

Then they went inside Jorrvaskr where Kodlak announced Yusuke as the new shield-brother of the Companions in front of everyone. Every men and women raised their hand up, saluting him. Deep down, Yusuke felt an old excitement, the thrill of combat, and a family. He didn't need to be lonely anymore.

* * *

Kurama sat on a bench in the Wind District, enjoying the breeze under the light of the two moons that loomed in the sky. His eyes gazed at the half dead tree in front him. What a waste. The citizens didn't seem to care to nurture such creature. He sighed and got up, heading to the lower district. Walking past the well at the center of the market, he knocked on the door of Arcadia's Cauldron, the potion shop Farengar mentioned.

"Sorry, we are closed now. Please come back tomorrow," said the woman's voice from inside the building.

Kurama couldn't control his curiosity, so he kept going in. He saw a woman facing the wall, putting the stuff back in their place.

"Don't you hear me? I said..." The sentence was lost the moment she saw Kurama. "Oh, are you new in town? I can't remember seeing your face around here."

Kurama smiled, "Yes, madam. I came from far away with some friends. I'm sorry for intruding, but the court wizard said you are a better alchemist than him."

"Well, he's not wrong. I think he's better in enchanting. My name is Arcadia, what's yours?" she said.

Kurama extended his hand to her, "I'm Kurama, nice to meet you." He then looked at the store's collection of potions and ingredients. He was intrigued by the variety of herbs he didn't recognize.

"Are you looking to buy something, Mr. Kurama?" asked Arcadia behind the counter.

Kurama's focus was snapped, "No, sorry. I was mesmerized. No, actually, I watched Farengar trying to make a potion and I would like to learn something about the alchemy."

Arcadia folded her arms and smiled, "Ah, so you wanna be an alchemist, then. Are you sure? Let me tell you, the job is often underappreciated in Skyrim. It's only better than restoration magic."

"Restoration magic? What's that?" Kurama asked.

"It's a field of magic that is used for healing people. See? It's so rare, you never heard it," Arcadia explained.

Closing his eyes, Kurama smiled and replied, "Nevermind. I still want to learn. Please, Madam Arcadia, I'll be glad if you can teach me."

Arcadia took the time to think. It wouldn't hurt anyone if she taught him the art of potion making. Besides, the shop was closed so she wouldn't have to worry some customers would come in. The Imperial could give her full attention to this stranger.

"Alright then, come this way," Arcadia called him.

She showed him the same alchemy table as the one in Dragonsreach. On the table, there were a distillery unit that was connected to a retort. The retort would flow the solution to one of the small collecting basins on the table surface. Kurama inspected the table carefully and it reminded him to the biochemistry class he took in the college. Arcadia demonstrated him one way how to make the Potion of Restore Health, by combining blue mountain flower and wheat. First, she grinded the two ingredients separately with mortar and pestle. Then, each of the extract was diluted with water and went into the distillery or retort where it would be purified from other compound. The specific heat from the boiler was required to get the desired compound. After that, water was added to mix them on the collecting basin, then she put the finished potion in a red bottle.

Kurama observed the potion for the color and odor. "How do you test the effect?" he questioned her.

Being a good teacher, Arcadia brought him to the back room where a new type of table laid there. The table had many symbols on top of it and at the center, a testing basin. She poured a little bit of the potion and immediately, the symbol for restoring health became illuminated with red light.

"The brighter it shines, the effect is stronger, and the longer it shines, the effect lasts longer too," she said as she described how it worked.

Kurama spent the next couple hours to practice his alchemy skill by memorizing some of Arcadia's recipes and trying to make potions on his own. Arcadia helped him by providing the ingredients and pointing his mistakes. Some of the ingredients needed to be grinded into fine powder, others had a very specific boiling point.

Kurama wiped his sweat off his forehead, "Whew, that's a hard work. This is not as easy as I thought."

Arcadia on the hand was impressed by the performance of her new apprentice. Yes, there were some failed potions, but Kurama had managed to make three bottles of Potion of Restore Health, one bottle of Potion of Restore Stamina, and one bottle of Potion of Restore Magicka. That was better than average novice alchemist.

"You learn quickly, impressive. I have a feeling this is not the first time you work in a lab. You must have some experience," Arcadia stated.

Kurama cleaned the table up with a piece of cloth and huffed, "You can say that, I am trained in some degree of science and I have my way with the plants."

Arcadia snorted, "Then I have high hopes for you. You should be my apprentice, I could use your help, especially with the conflict between the Empire and Stormcloaks growing, and you'll money for yourself."

Kurama chuckled, "Perhaps I'll see the opportunity later. Well, I better get back out there. I have to travel tomorrow, Jarl's order and all that, you know. Thank you so much for the lesson, Madam Arcadia."

"You too, Kurama. And please, call me Miss Arcadia," she said with a smile.

Kurama just nodded in response and came out of the building and headed to Bannered Mare.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Yusuke and Kurama were back in Bannered Mare. Some of the customers had already left for their home. The barkeeper, Hulda, was still serving a drunkard who insisted to keep on chugging despite his condition, until Sinmir, a regular customer, dragged him out of the inn.

Yusuke rested his arms behind his head, "What a night! I had a blast, what about you, Kurama?"

The demon fox mused, "I got quite interesting knowledge that might be useful. And judging from your bruises, I take it you had a fight?"

Yusuke scoffed, "You bet I did, and guess what? I'm hired by the Companions!"

While Kurama shook his hand, Kuwabara walked to the bar, "So finally you make new friends, huh? I heard they're pretty damn good fighters. You must be in your element."

Yusuke ruffled his hair before speaking, "Yeah, most of them use weapons to fight. I don't know if they'll accept me. But you know what, with your skill with the Spirit Sword, I still think you'll be a great Companion. Maybe I should recommend you to Kodlak."

"Who's Kodlak?" Kurama asked.

"Some sort of their leader," said Yusuke, facing Kurama, who responded with 'ah'.

Kuwabara pouted and stomped the floor when he heard about his signature move. "Hey! No need to remind me about Spirit Sword. You know, I can sense the spirit energy inside me, but somehow I can't bring up more power to summon the sword. It's frustrating!"

Kurama was a bit concerned about him, so he tried to give him an advice, "It sounds serious. Maybe you should check it with Genkai. As the master of spirit energy, she'll know what's wrong with you."

Yusuke sighed as he walked to their room, "Let's hope you're right. Don't forget that hag lost a great deal of her power too. But that's for another day. Right now, can we just have a good night sleep?"

"That's not a bad idea, we have a journey tomorrow. By the way, do you see Hiei?" asked Kurama, not seeing Hiei the whole night.

Kuwabara shrugged, "He told me he would go out of the city for the night. I don't think he likes the crowd, or maybe he's just antisocial. Either way, I think he can take care of himself."

Kurama and Kuwabara followed Yusuke to the room. They picked their bed and put their head on the pillow. They told each other about their interaction with the residents of Whiterun, how Yusuke beat up Uthgerd in front of Kodlak, how Kurama learned about alchemy and how Kuwabara got to know some interesting characters inside and outside Bannered Mare.

"So I met this guy Nazeem," Kuwabara informed them, "who is the embodiment of douchbaggery. He asked me if I ever visited Cloud District often and before I answered him, he dismissed me as if I don't know what he's saying. If you were in my shoes, you would have punched his perfect teeth!"

Both Yusuke and Kurama chuckled hearing his story. They were grateful that at least this world didn't totally suck and there was something to laugh at. Little did they know what the fate had in store for them tomorrow for it definitely would change their life forever.

* * *

Power Level:

Uthgerd: Level 7 (skyrim)/E class (YYH)

Fathis & Njada: Level 5 (skyrim)/E class (YYH)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Skyrim and Yu Yu Hakusho. I wish I did, then I would be millionaire. Ha ha ha!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Bleak Falls Barrow

The next morning, the three were woken up by the smell of whatever was being cooked downstairs. After getting dressed, they went to the first floor to have a breakfast, served by a Redguard waitresses, Saadia. With their belly full of meal, they paid the staying cost to Hulda and walked out of the door. They kept walking until they passed the stables outside the gate.

As they walked through the hold, they were amazed by the beauty of Skyrim tundra. Kuwabara, now in the fur armor given to him, took a deep breath and enjoyed the cool sensation in his lungs thanks to the clean unpolluted air of Skyrim.

Lucky for them, this time, they encountered no enemies on the road until they heard a familiar voice.

"You're late."

They turned to the owner of the voice and found Hiei standing by a rock, holding his bloody sword in front of a dead wolf. Apparently he just finished gutting it.

Standing nearest to him, Yusuke greeted him, "About time you show up, did you having fun last night?"

The fire demon stayed quiet, "You're living now?" He asked them back, ignoring Yusuke's trivial question.

Kurama answered him, "We're going to Bleak Falls Barrow to get that dragonstone and the golden claw. You're coming?"

Hiei momentarily walked to a nearby creek and washed his sword, "I think I don't have a choice, do I? I'll help you with this, but I can't guarantee the same afterwards.

Yusuke shrugged, "Sounds good to me. Let's go, then."

Their journey continued to the woods and up a mountain near Riverwood. Kuwabara glanced at the village every minute, worrying about his friends, especially Yukina. The girl was 26 years old now (in human standard at least) and looked even prettier than ever. She went to the same college as him, chasing her medical degree, so they met quite often in the campus.

After a while, the stone arches of Bleak Falls Barrow came in the horizon. From the distance, they could appreciate the magnificent size of the burial complex.

Just as they began to climb the stairs, an arrow flew past their head, only the be caught by Hiei with his amazing reflex.

"Never should have come here!" shouted a male bandit with an iron axe. His taunt was followed by other bandits charging them, either with sword, axe, mace or bow. The four had been told to kill any bandits and marauders if they could. Eventhough some of them were humans, they weren't some middle school punks. They wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone for money.

Kurama took out his hairpin and held it in his hand, "Rose Whip!" He used the weapon to slash the bandit's hand, causing him to drop his weapon, then cut his hand. The bandit screamed in pain, but he was soon silenced when Kurama wrapped his whip around the bandit's neck and threw him down the cliff.

Kuwabara and Hiei brandished their sword and started to mow any bandits who were foolish enough to clash their sword with them. Kuwabara fought a male Nord with a massive iron battleaxe. The Nord swung the axe from his back to gain momentum that would split anyone's body open, but Kuwabara displayed his strength by blocking it with his sword. Then he landed the sword on the bandit's axe. The impact was so hard, it made the Nord staggered. Kuwabara wasted no time and ran with his sword pointed at him. He thrusted his abdomen, killing him immediately.

If Kuwabara relied on his strength, Hiei used his superhuman speed to cut down the enemies before they could touch him. Moving in zigzag pattern, he avoided their blows and delivered deadly attack to send them to the void. By the time Kuwabara finished one bandit, he killed five of them.

Meanwhile, Yusuke was ecstatic. The adrenaline rushed through his veins as he dodged a bandit who used an iron mace. The bandit aimed for his head, but then Yusuke stopped moving and blocked the mace with his bare hand, shocking the bandit. He took a step back as he saw glowing light surrounding Yusuke's hands.

What really happened was Yusuke channeling his spirit energy to his hands, creating a pair of magical gauntlet. He smirked, taunting his enemy before buried his fist to the bandit's face, knocking him out. Another one tried to kill him with a sword, but the blade just broke rather unceremoniously upon contact with his hand. Then he gave him pounding to the chest that broke several ribs, puncturing his lungs and ending him.

When the fight stopped, they looked around and found every bandit laid dead on the ground, so they approached the door. Yusuke pushed the door open and enter the barrow. The others followed suit and started to delve into the deep, dark structure.

Inside they found a campsite with fire still going on, no doubt made by those bandits. They took everything they could and continued onwards. As the place getting darker and darker, Kuwabara took a torch from the wall and used it to light a few braziers. Then they heard footsteps that were not theirs.

"Psst, guys, look at that," Kurama whispered to them. In the next room, a man was seen pulling a lever to open a gate. But instead of opening it, the lever sent arrows from the ledge that killed him.

They entered the area to see what it was all about. On the wall in the second level, there were two stone faces, but another one in the middle was on the ground. On the left side, three pillars stood, each side of the pillars had a relief of some animals.

Kurama looked at the stone faces. At the mouth, they had the same type of relief as the ones on the pillars. He figured out the meaning quickly.

"Yusuke, see if you can turn those pillars," he said as he pointed at them.

Yusuke walked to one of the pillars and turned it. He expected it to be rusted and hard to turn, but surprisingly, the pillar was easily moved.

"You're right, they can be turned. Now what?"

Kurama pointed at the stone faces, "I think we have to match the pillars with that. Now turn them so that the order is snake, snake, whale."

After the order was correct, Kurama spoke to Hiei, "Hiei, could you please pull the lever now? If my prediction is correct, that combination will open the gate."

Hiei glared at him, "And what will happen if you're wrong?"

The red haired man smile playfully, "Then you should be alright. Don't tell me you're slowing down."

The short demon rolled his eyes and walked to the lever. He grabbed the handle, then pulled it. The gate was opened with a loud thumping sound. Everyone sighed with relief and continued going inwards the barrow.

After a couple dozens of meters, they arrived at a corner that was riddled with cobwebs. They were reminded of the cave in Helgen where they were attacked by giant spiders.

A voice called from the distance, "Is... is someone coming? Is that you, Harknir? Bjorn? Soling?"

They went towards the voice and discovered a Dunmer trapped in the spider's web. He was a bit stunned to see the ones coming were not his friends.

"What? Who are you? Oh, never mind. Cut me down before it gets us," he said frantically.

Before anyone could ask him what would get them, a shadow emerged from above. They turned around and gasped. It was a giant spider, larger than its kin in Helgen. The group took their position to exterminate the arachnid. Yusuke and Kuwabara charged it from the front, Kurama provided support with his long range attack, and Hiei made a distraction by attacking from its sides.

Kuwabara gritted his teeth, this spider was harder to kill, especially in their current state. Its long legs made them difficult to land a hit without getting stung. The creature hissed when Hiei cut one of its eight legs. So Kuwabara seized the moment by stabbing it in the thorax. The eight-legged freak was furious, it shot a series of web to each and every one of them. Kuwabara was surprised by the shooting and got his legs wrapped by the web. He fell to the ground as the spider advanced to him.

He screamed as it showed its fangs, ready to eat him. But a thud was heard from the spider. Yusuke landed on top of its back. He stomped it to attract its attention. Then he crouched and hit its eyes as hard as he could to blind it. Kurama and Hiei helped him by wounding it with their whip and sword respectively.

Finally able to set himself free, Kuwabara ran towards the spider and killed it with a sword strike to the head. He tried to catch his breath. This iron sword was heavier than his old spirit sword or baseball bat. Swinging it even for a minute really drained his stamina.

Yusuke put his hand on his shoulder to support him, "Are you alright, man?"

"Yeah, it didn't hurt me, only my pride," Kuwabara replied, making the ok gesture.

Hiei responded him with his usual emotionless tone, "Really? I think it ate your manliness as well there, judging from your high pitched voice."

Kuwabara scowled and marched to Hiei, towering over him, "What's your problem?! Why do you always have to be such a jerk?!"

"No need to yell, I'm right in front of you. I'm not deaf."

"Oh, you know what? You're gonna lose more than your hearing with that attitude!"

"Children, behave! In case you forgot already, we have work to do. You two can kiss each other's ass AFTER we finished here, not before," Kurama bellowed, feeling frustrated by their bickering.

Their attention was drawn to this elf who was dangling above ground. "Great. You did it. You killed it. Now cut me down before anything else shows up," he demanded.

Yusuke raised his hands, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on. We can't do that. Give us the golden claw first."

Kuwabara stared menacingly at him, folding his arms, "That's right, don't bother to lie. We know you're one of the bandits who steal the golden claw from Riverwood. And don't try to call for help, your buddies are dead."

The Dunmer gulped, realizing the cause of their death were standing before him. "Alright, I admit it. We stole the claw. I know how it works. The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together!"

Kurama was intrigued, it seemed the claw had something to do with the place. That thing was not an ordinary ornament after all, "Tell us how it works."

The thief snarled, "Help me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there."

Now Yusuke's patience was running thin, he raised his voice, "Just give us the claw and tell us how it works, will ya? We don't have all day here."

The dark elf growled and shake his body, trying to get away from the web, but it was too strong, "See? Does it look like I can move? You have to cut me down, first."

Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama looked at each other, unsure if he was telling the truth. Feeling there was no other choice, Kurama nodded to Kuwabara, signaling him to free the thief. The athlete unsheathed his sword and cut the web around the Dunmer.

"It's coming loose. I can feel it," he said as he was getting free. Finally, his feet touched the ground, but instead of giving them the claw, he dashed to the next room.

"Hahaha! You fool! Why should I share the treasure with anyone?" he laughed as he left them behind. Thinking he was beyond their reach, he boasted, "You can't get me, Arvel, 'cause I'm too swift... hurrrk!"

He choked as he felt the cold steel pierced his back. Hiei managed to catch him without breaking a sweat. He pulled out the blade and let his body drop.

"You're not the fastest," he murmured.

The other three defenders of Earth followed him into some kind of treasure room. Hiei turned to them, showing the golden claw he took from Arvel, "You all talk too much. Next time, try to rely on your weapon rather than your words."

He threw the claw to be caught by Kuwabara, then he handed Kurama a book, "I think you might wanna see this."

Kurama accepted the book and opened the pages. The book was actually the journal of Arvel the Swift, the bandit who was now laying dead. He thanked Hiei and kept the book.

The four inspected the surrounding area and found various gems and potions. Yusuke and Kuwabara were more interested in the the first as they looted the place. Kuwabara was taking the potions for scientific purpose when he spotted a purple gem. It was relatively bigger than other gemstones, but something told him it wasn't a mere precious stone. He put in the pocket for later study.

After plundering the treasure room, they walked even deeper into the dungeon to find the dragonstone Farengar requested. As they came to a small corridor, they noticed a metal plate on the ground.

"What is that? A sewer drain cover?" asked Kuwabara.

Yusuke mused, "I don't think this place needs a sewer drain. If my experience watching movies teaches me something, I say this is some kind of a trap."

He lifted a nearby urn and tossed it on the plate. Suddenly, a massive metal spiked wall swung, potentially killing them if only they stood closer to the plate.

"Holy shit! That was close!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

They decided to walked around the plate, after watching the trap in action. None of them wanted be minced meat at the end of the day. But something stopped them not too far from the spike wall. They saw bodies in the wall, dead bodies.

"I think this is the burial chamber, the main part of this barrow. Let's just proceed," Kurama mused.

They walked slowly through the skeletons and mummified corpses, admiring the tradition of the Nords. But Kuwabara was seriously creeped out by the ambiance, "Can't we walk faster? I just wanna get out of this place as soon as possible. It feels like these guys gonna wake up and eat us."

That last words were something he was going to regret soon because some of the dead truly came out of their slumber and approached them.

"Oh crap! They're zombies!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Darn it, Kuwabara! You and your big mouth!" Yusuke cursed him.

It didn't take too long before they were surrounded by the walking dead. The corpses looked terrifying with the gray skin and blue eyes shining from their socket. Each of them were armed with various weapon and they wore ragged clothes that were eaten by the time. But perhaps the most unique feature was that they still could speak even in death.

"Unslaad krosis!"

"Qiilaan us dilon!"

"Dir volaan!"

The undead charged from all sides, clashing blades and fist with the heroes. Within seconds, the monsters fell one by one, sent back to eternal sleep by the gang. Body parts were flying around as Kuwabara and his friends pushed through the waves of the undead. Some of the dead used magic, such as Frostbite to attack them. To counter this, Hiei used Flamethrower technique that negated the ice, creating water that soaked everything. Then when it paused, he finished it by chopping its head.

With all walking corpses dead, they could move on with their journey. They opened the wooden door to the next area and arrived in a mysterious room. Again, Kuwabara lighted up the fire in the braziers, and they could see what kind of room was that. It was a large, open hallway with ornate walls. Kuwabara came closer to the walls and saw a group of people bowing to a figure in robe.

Then Kurama called them, "Everyone, over here!"

They stood together before a metal door that blocked the passage. The door had three symbols that lined up vertically and at the center, there was some sort of a keyhole. Kurama inspected door, the symbols and the keyhole carefully. Then he read the book from Arvel for any clue.

 _My fingers are trembling. The Golden Claw is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favorite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow._

 _Now I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that "When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands."_

He closed the book and said to Kuwabara, "Kuwabara, you have the claw, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Could you look at the palm? The book says the solution is in the pal," he told him.

Kuwabara took the claw and try to see its palm, "Oh, I think you're right, Kurama. There's something here. Check it out."

He show the claw to Kurama. The fox saw three symbols of animal, lined up from top to bottom. Bear, moth, owl. He looked up to the door and found the order was wrong.

"See here, to open the door, we must match the door combination with the claw," he concluded with his deductive reasoning. He touched the top symbol to see if he could change it, "Hmm, I wonder..."

As he suspected, the symbol moved to the side and showed them a new one. They finally got it. The symbols were actually seals that locked the door. After the seals matched with the claw, he took it from Kuwabara and inserted it into the keyhole. Then he turned it clockwise. A rumbling sound was heard and the door slid down to the ground, revealing a vast cavern.

He gave the claw back to Kuwabara before they all entered the cavern. The group watched carefully for any sign of danger. A colony of bats flew around, spooking some member of the party. There were many rocks and vegetation in the area, but no enemies sighted at the moment.

Yusuke was looking for something interesting when his eyes caught one. In the back of the cave, a strange wall stood out. "Hey, guys, what is that?"

Everyone directed their attention to what he pointed at. They walked towards it to find out what it was. The wall was about 12 feet tall and on the surface, there were markings in some strange language. The markings looked like someone scratched the wall to make it.

"Look! Treasure chest!" Yusuke called them excitedly. He opened the chest that sit next to a coffin and saw what was inside. "Hey, is this the dragonstone?"

Kurama and Hiei looked at the stone tablet in his hands, that looked quite heavy. Kurama chuckled, "I don't know, but let's just bring to him. If it isn't the stone, we can always sell it."

Yusuke put down the stone on the ground and smiled at him, "I like the way you think, Kurama. Now we can head back outside, give Lucan his claw back, and take the girls to Whiterun. Do you like that, Kuwabara? Kuwabara?"

He called his best friend, but somehow he couldn't hear him. The baseball athlete was standing still in front of the wall, his eyes were transfixed on the markings on the wall. He felt the urge to come closer as he saw the one the markings glowed blue. Then his vision blurred, he heard a word planted in his mind: Fus.

The once strongest human on Earth fell to his knees as he felt lightheaded. "Kuwabara! What happened?" He heard Yusuke's voice calling his name over and over, but he couldn't get up or answer him. Kurama, too, rushed to his side. He took a tablet from his pocket, it was a pill he made on Earth by combining science and his ability to manipulate plants.

He put it in Kuwabara's mouth, "Here, chew on this. It will make you feel better." They waited anxiously for him to tell them what's going. Kuwabara was a tough person, but this wall was able to disable him like that.

Suddenly, the coffin burst open, sending the lid across the cavern. A tall and armored living corpse rose from itx holding a longsword and a shield. He ran at them furiously in an attempt to kill them.

Kurama readied his whip as Hiei engaged the undead warrior, "Stay here with him! We'll deal with this one." Then he joined Hiei to take the creature down.

The two pure-blooded demons fought the undead with perfect harmony, giving it trouble. The blade and whip came one after another, but they also protected each other. But when it looked like they had won, the undead did something unexpected. It shouted.

"Fus Ro Dah!"

The result was a powerful shockwave that pushed the combatants back several feet. "What the heck is that?" Kurama groaned.

Hiei grabbed his sword that was separated from him when he flew, "I don't know. This one is probably their leader."

The battle was resumed as Kuwabara and Yusuke watched from the wall. Kuwabara struggled to get up, but he was restrained by Yusuke, "No, don't do that, Kuwabara. You're in no shape to fight him."

Kuwabara snarled as he broke away from Yusuke, "We do not... leave... our friends."

He readied his sword and leaped into the fray. Kuwabara attacked it left and right and when it lost the balance, Hiei jumped and decapitated it. Kuwabara dropped his sword and sat down on the rock, panting.

Kurama knelt by his side, checking his condition. "Kuwabara, are you ok?"

Kuwabara nodded, "I'm fine." Then he explained what he experienced when he stared at the wall. His friends were baffled, they'd never heard something like that before. This wall must had some power if it could cause such effect.

Yusuke came to the wall and touched it, trying to find anomalies. "No, sorry, I don't see and feel anything. This looks like a normal wall."

Kuwabara got up to his feet and took his sword, "Let's just get out of here, I'm tired."

Agreeing that it was a good idea, they walked out of the cavern through the back of the wall, to the main room, then to the outside. The next leg of the journey were spent in silence for they knew Kuwabara wasn't in the mood to talk about it.

By the afternoon, they arrived in Riverwood and headed straight to Lucan's shop.

"Hey, look who it is! My favorite customers. Now did you get my golden claw?" he asked cheerfully.

Kurama took the claw and put it on the counter, "Here, this is yours."

Lucan quickly grabbed it and look at it, "Marvelous! You actually did it! Thank you so much. I don't know what would I do without your help. Please accept this as my payment of your service."

He gave Kurama a satchel full of coins, which was accepted gladly by Kurama, "Thank you. It's nice to have a business with you."

With the golden claw business done, they focused on another matter. They went to Sleeping Giant Inn where the girls were likely hanging out. They opened the door and saw them sitting in boredom, watching Sven performing Ragnar the Red.

"We're back!" Yusuke announced their entrance.

The girls rose from the bench almost at once and welcomed them. "Yusuke, I'm so worried. I thought you all dead, eaten by wild animals," Keiko expressed her concern.

Yusuke made a cocky pose, "Oh please. Keiko, that's ridiculous. No animals can eat this man who defeated Toguro and Sensui."

"But you're all weakened, you could've been killed," she retorted.

"If we're alone. But together, we are stronger," said Yusuke. "Speaking of which..." he turned to see Kuwabara who was being caressed by his sister, Shizuru.

"What happened, bro? You don't look so good," she said.

Kuwabara rubbed his temple as he explained, "It's uh... I just feel a little bit distressed." He saw Yukina came with a tankard of water, "Oh, thank you, Yukina. You are so kind."

After he drank the water, Kurama spoke to them, "Since the day is getting dark, I suggest we rest for the night and tomorrow, we're going to Whiterun, all of us."

Keiko stepped forward to give him her approval, "I think that's a good idea. We saw soldiers coming here this morning. That's when I knew you must be succeeded in convincing the Jarl to send aid. With this village secured, we can move to somewhere else, like the city of Whiterun."

Genkai listened to their conversation. She was glad Yusuke and others made it back safely, but she wasn't sure these soldiers would be enough to protect the village from that dragon. Even in her weakened state, she knew the dragon would be a big problem even for experience spirit warriors. But she didn't express her opinion because she felt something wrong, a disturbance of spirit energy. It came from Kuwabara who started to crack some jokes again with everyone. She didn't know what it was, but there was another energy inside him, the one she never felt before. She decided to let it go for now, trying not judge prematurely. If that didn't threaten Kuwabara, she could study it, but if it was dangerous, she'd do everything she could to stop it.

* * *

 **A/N: How do you like this chapter? Let me know in the review section. Next we're going to see a great transformation in the storyline as each of them begins to find an affiliation. Until next time, I'm out.**

Power Level:

Bandits (incl. Arvel): Level 1-3 (skyrim)/E- class (YYH)

Wounded Frostbite Spider: Level 8 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Draugrs: Level 1-10 (skyrim)/E- class to E+ class (YYH)

Yusuke: Level 10 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Kuwabara: Level 7 (skyrim)/E class (YYH)

Kurama: Level 10 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

Hiei: Level 10 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Dragon Rising

When the sunlight broke through the foliage of Riverwood, the company had assembled in front of Sleeping Giant Inn. Carrying their supplies, they said goodbye to the villagers, including Alvor and Faendal before heading to the gate. Yusuke walked at the head of the group, leading them through the forest and the stone bridge to the tundra. The girls couldn't hide their excitement when they saw how beautiful Skyrim landscape really was. Most of them had only ever seen tundra in the natural history documentaries, but now they could feast their eyes on it directly.

Just before noon, they arrived at Whiterun. Recognizing the boys, the city guard let them in and that was the start of the tour, for the girls. Keiko's heart jumped with joy when she found herself back in a busy city. Having walls around her created a sense of safety. They passed the stalls in the market area and climbed to Wind District where Yusuke showed them the famous Jorrvaskr, to which Genkai was frowned.

Then they went around the tree to Cloud District where the Jarl lived. Yukina, Botan and Shizuru were a bit nervous because of the fact they were going to meet the ruler of the hold, but Keiko was in her environment. She met several important people back on Earth so she felt familiar with this, except for the medieval aura. In the palace, again, the grand architecture struck the women with awe when they saw the pillars, high ceiling and long fireplace.

Kurama introduced them to the Jarl when he saw him, "Greetings, Jarl Balgruuf, we have come back safely and we bring our friends here if you don't mind."

The Jarl looked at them with curiosity for he never saw anyone like those women in his life. "I am Jarl Balgruuf the Greater and I welcome you, ladies, to Whiterun and my humble palace, Dragonsreach. I'm glad to see you all safe and I hope you enjoy your time in my city," he greeted them.

"Thank you very much. We're honored to be your guests, my Jarl," said Keiko who performed the traditional Japanese bow, followed by the other woman.

Then the fighters excused themselves to Farengar's office, while Balgruuf told his guards to bring the ladies to the waiting area in the front. As soon as the boys were in his office, Kuwabara unloaded the stone on the table. He attempted to speak to Farengar, but he was talking to someone who was wearing a hood. None of them could see the face, but they knew the person was a woman from her voice.

"You see? The terminology is clearly First Era or even earlier. I'm convinced this is a copy of a much older text. Perhaps dating to just after the Dragon War. If so, I could use this to cross-reference the names with other later texts," said Farengar as he explained a roll of parchment on the desk.

The woman was somehow satisfied with his explanation, "Good. I'm glad you're making progress. My employers are anxious to have some tangible answers."

Farengar stood confidently, still not realizing Kuwabara and the other's presence, "Oh, have no fear. The Jarl himself has finally taken an interest, so I'm now able to devote most of my time to this research."

"Time is running, Farengar, don't forget. This isn't some theoretical question. Dragons have come back," she said sternly.

Farengar's eyes were widened at the thought of dragons coming back, "Yes, yes. Don't worry. Although the chance to see a living dragon up close would be tremendously valuable... Now, let me show you something else I found... very intriguing... I think your employers may be interested as well..."

It was then the woman noticed that they were not alone, "You have a visitor."

Feeling a bit puzzled, the court wizard looked around and saw the spirit fighters in his office, "Hmm? Ah, yes, the Jarl's proteges! Back from Bleak Falls Barrow? You didn't die, it seems."

Yusuke snorted, "Sorry to ruin your expectation. We just don't know how to fail."

Farengar walked around the table to see the stone they brought from Bleak Falls Barrow. A smile was seen in his face the moment he inspected the stone, "Ah! The Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow!" Seems you are a cut above the usual brutes the Jarl sends my way. My..." he trailed off and saw the woman behind him, "associate here will be pleased to see your handiwork. She discovered its location, by means she has so far declined to share with me," he finished.

Then he redirected his attention back yo her, "So your information was correct after all. And we have our friend here to thank for recovering it for us," he said, pointing at them.

The woman looked at the group of young men before her. If Farengar didn't tell her, she would have laughed at the notion of how these slender guys were able to retrieve the dragonstone.

"You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got that? Nice work," she congratulated them shortly. She walked back to the parchment earlier and said to Farengar, "Just send me a copy when you've deciphered it."

Kuwabara couldn't help but disliking this woman. How dare she gave them such meaningless thanks and then ignore them just like that? Did she really know what danger they faced down there? Before he could say anything about that, someone called Farengar.

"Farengar, you need to come at once. A dragon has been sighted nearby." It was Irileth who burst into the room. The Jarl's housecarl then told the group, "All of you should come as well."

"A dragon! How exciting! Where was it seen? What was it doing?" said Farengar with excitement like a child in a candy store.

Kuwabara was puzzled by his reaction, "Chill out, man. What's so great about seeing a dragon? They're creatures of nightmare and death."

Irileth sighed, "He has this fascination about dragons for a long time. He always see them like a specimen to study, not a threat. I'd take this a bit more seriously, if I were him. If a dragon decides to attack Whiterun, I don't know if we can stop it. Let's go."

They all shrugged and went out of the room and climbed the stairs into the room in the back with a large map on the table. There the Jarl stood at the top of the stairs with a guardsman who looked very tired and anxious. When his housecarl, the wizard and these young men arrived, he asked the guard, "So, Irileth tells me you came from the Western Watchtower?" said the Jarl.

"Yes, my lord," the guard said between his panting, sweat was seen dripping down his face.

"Tell him what you told me, about the dragon," Irileth asked with concern.

"Uh, that's right. We saw it coming from the south. It was fast, faster than anything I've ever seen!" the guard said, clearly frightened.

"What did it do? Is it attacking the Watchtower?" asked the Jarl with worry.

"No, my lord. It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life... I thought it would come after me for sure," the guard replied, shaking when he was recollecting his experience.

Jarl Balgruuf decided to put him out of his ordeal. He patted him on the shoulder, "Good work, son. We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it." The guard saluted him and walked away with his head down.

Then the Jarl instructed his housecarl, "Irileth, you'd better gather some guardsmen and get down there."

Irileth nodded and answered him, "I've already ordered my men to muster near the main gate."

"Good. Don't fail me," the Jarl said quietly before turning to Kuwabara and his friends.

"There's no time to stand on ceremony, my friends. I need your help again. I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. You four survived Helgen, so you have more experience with dragons than anyone else here. But I haven't forgotten the service you did for me in retrieving the Dragonstone for Farengar. As a token of my esteem, I have instructed Avenicci that you are now permitted to buy property in the city."

"Let me go along as well!" Farengar blurted out, failing to hide his obvious but foolish excitement. "I should very much like to see this dragon.

"No," the Jarl said firmly, and his tone brooked no room for argument. "I can't afford to risk all six of you. I need you here working on ways to defend the city against these dragons."

For a moment Farengar considered defying his orders, but he simply sighed and whispered, "As you command, my lord."

"One last thing, Irileth. This is not a death or glory mission. I need to know what we are dealing with," Balgruuf added.

"Don't worry, my Lord. I'm the very soul of caution," the Dunmer replied.

Irileth led them out of the palace when Keiko joined them. "What happened, Yusuke? I heard quite a commotion up there."

Yusuku stopped and told his girlfriend about what happened and the Jarl's plan. "A dragon around here? Is it coming back to kill us?" asked Botan who was terrified when she imagined the creature.

"What are you thinking, going out there? It almost killed us all last time. What if you guys are dead? Who will protect us then?" Keiko pouted. Even when she was angry at him, she actually cared about him, something that surprised Yusuke every now and then.

Yusuke grabbed her hands and promised her, "Not this time, Keiko. Last time, we were powerless, nothing more than a pup. But now our power returns. It's not much, but with the four of us, and these guards, we will have a better chance, I think."

Keiko hugged him tightly, "Just don't die, okay? If you die, I'll kill you."

Yusuke chuckled, "You know that's impossible, right?"

Then Kurama called him from the front gate, "Come on, Yusuke. We're wasting time here."

The ex-spirit detective jogged on to the gate when Shizuru and Yukina released Kuwabara. "Stay in the city, and if it comes here, go to this palace. This is the most heavily guarded place in the city. The guards will allow you in, you understand?" Kuwabara told them. They were the people he most cared for in his life. Shizuru became like his mother to him when they lived away from their parents and Yukina was the one who encouraged him not to give up on his career.

Together they left the women behind, trusting their safety in Genkai's hands as she was the strongest of the five.

Once they were out of Dragonsreach, they went down to the barracks by the main gate. Irileth took them down a back road, though the residential area of the upper class. There, four guardsmen were waiting, all of them armed and armoured.

She gathered the spirit warriors with them to give them some pep talk, "Here's the situation. A dragon is attacking the Western Watchtower."

The guards gasped in disbelief and looked astonished.

"What?"

"A dragon?"

"Now we're in for it!"

Irileth continued talking, "You heard right! I said a dragon! I don't much care where it came from, or who sent it. But I do know it's made the mistake of attacking Whiterun!"

One of the guardsmen raised his hand to ask a question with panicky voice, "But Housecarl... How can we fight a dragon?"

"That's a fair question," Irileth said, "None of us has ever seen a dragon before, or expected to face one in battle. But we are honour bound to stop it, even if we fail. This dragon is threatening our homes... our families! Could you call yourselves Nords if you ran from this monster? Are you going to let me face this thing alone?"

They all fell silent at the question until one guardsman whispered to his partner "We're so dead."

"What's that?!"

"No, Housecarl! We won't let you face it alone!" he nervously answered her. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama tried so hard not to burst into laughter.

"But it's more than our honour at stake here. Think of it – The first dragon seen in Skyrim since the last age! The glory of killing it is ours, if you're with me! Now what do you say? Shall we go kill us a dragon?" Some of the guards nodded in approval as they started to think it was possible.

"Yeah! Damn right!" The guards all agreed.

"Good! Let's move out!" The Dunmer shouted. Once the guards were out of the gates, she was approached by Kuwabara who told her, "You know, that's a nice pep talk you did there. But my baseball coach has the best pep talk in the world. It's the gold standard, triangle. You should listen it, study it a little bit."

The dark elf glared him, "I don't know half of those words and I honestly don't care. The Jarl trusts you, so you better move your ass now."

Kuwabara resisted himself not to stick his tongue out at her as she walked past him. But Yusuke gave him an 'ok' sign as he lightly punched his arm.

The nine of them marched out of the city, jogging with Irileth at the front line. After leaving the walls, they turned west and went cross-country until they met up with the main road. Within minutes they spotted a towering pillar of smoke, which rose in a serpentine fashion out of the smouldering ruins of the watchtower.

As they got closer they could see great holes rent in the sides of the structure, the hunks laying strewn across the tundra. A bridge crossing a small stream was split in two, and a tree was on fire nearby.

Irileth motioned them all behind a large slab of rock, peering at the scene. "No signs of any dragon right now, but it sure looks like he's been here."

She turned to address her men, "I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened. And if that dragon is still skulking around somewhere. Spread out and look for survivors. We need to know what we are dealing with," she ordered.

Kuwabara readied his sword as Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei activated their spirit energy, carefully approaching the ruins. The last thing they wanted was for the dragon to swoop down and snap them up, not without at least making an attack or two at it first.

The other men fanned out, searching the charred and furrowed field. There were a few scattered corpses, but not all of the men posted at the watch were accounted for. Someone gave a shout from the main tower. It was a man.

"Hey! Get down!" he yelled.

"Get under cover! That dragon – it's still around," the man called. His arm was a charred mess, he needed to get to a cutter, and soon.

"Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!" Then a famili roar thundered across the ruin, and Kuwabara's blood ran cold. It was a dragon, but it sounded different from the one at Helgen.

"Kynareth save us, here he comes again!" The injured guard whimpered, pressing himself into a crack in the rubble.

"Here he comes! Find cover and make every arrow count!" Irileth barked.

The dragon flew around the tower, already spreading fear to Irileth's men, but the spirit warriors stood bravely, refusing to cower. "Yol Toor Shul!" The dragon swooped low over the wreck spewing fire at a pair of archers who were firing arrows from the gap in the broken bridge. The pair of them leapt away, rolling into the stream to extinguish the flames.

Then Irileth sounded her order to return fire. Arrows were flying to the dragon, but each of them missed its mark for the creature flew too fast. Seeing the dragon wasn't likely to land to make it easy for everyone, Yusuke climbed the tower to the rooftop. He focused his spirit energy to his right index finger, preparing for his signature move.

Meanwhile the battle below didn't go so well. A guard had the third degree burn from when dragon shooting flame from its mouth. The other three were still struggling to hit it with their arrows. Irileth shot Sparks to bring it down, but the dragon shook it off and continued its rampage. Kurama tried to hook the dragon with his Rose Whip. As the whip attached to its leg, he was pulled to the sky, flailing around like a waving flag. He tried to get on its back, but the dragon turned sharply, slamming his body to the trees.

"Kurama!" Hiei yelled when he saw his friend fell through the branches. He rushed to his side to see if he was okay. Kurama's shirt was torn apart and he got many tiny cuts on his face and hands because of the twigs.

Kuwabara watched in helplessness, wishing he still had enough spirit energy to make Spirit Sword. Then he heard Yusuke called from above.

"Kuwabara! Get ready! I'm about to shoot him. I think I can only do it once, so get him once he lands!"

"Well, you better not miss, Yusuke. I haven't got the chance to bury my sword in his neck," Kuwabara exclaimed.

Yusuke raised his arm and pointed at the flying lizard. His finger glowed in blueish white light and as it reached critical point, he released it.

"Spirit Gun!"

The powerful burst of pure spirit energy rocketed towards the dragon and made a contact at its wing. The dragon began to descend as it realized its wing had been ripped.

"Brit grah! I had forgotten what fine sport you mortals can provide!" the dragon taunted gleefully as it landed heavily on one half of the broken bridge.

"Yol Toor Shul!" It Shouted at the individual who happened to be in front of it, Irileth. Kuwabara ran as fast as he could to the housecarl, "Irileth, move!"

He pushed her aside and took the stream of fire himself. "Kuwabara, no!" Yusuke screamed from the tower. He thought he was seeing the death of his best friend, but something amazing happened. Kuwabara's body was now covered by glowing white light, completely unharmed. His spirit energy appeared to awoken by the adrenaline rush.

He stared the dragon in its eyes and smiled wickedly, "My turn." He swung his sword to the creature, slashing his neck. It roared in pain and anger. Hiei didn't want to miss the show, so he dove into the attack to join Kuwabara. He tried to distract it by attacking its sides and tail, but he jumped away when the tail swung to swat him.

Kuwabara's attacks were relentless. He stabbed, slashing and thrust the dragon, causing it to lose some of the scales. He quickly dodged when the dragon snapped its jaws to bite him, then proceeded to chop the neck. Everyone was amazed by how deadly his attacks were. Finally, he made the finishing move by slashing the dragon's bloodied face and jumping on his head. The dragon, knowing what would he do, asked him, "Dovahkiin, niid!" Ignoring its plea, Kuwabara stabilized himself on the head and stabbed the skull twice before jumping down.

The dragon's neck fell limp to the ground, concluding the battle. Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei came to meet Kuwabara after that, to see if everyone missed a body part.

Irileth and the guards ran over and met them, "Thank you for saving me back there. I owe you my life," Irileth said. She turned to Yusuke, "Damn good shooting, boy. I've never seen magic like that before."

Kuwabara felt something pulsating inside him, telling him to turn to the dead dragon. As Yusuke were conversing with Irileth, he took a few steps towards it, and the corpse started to burn. It didn't burn like it would in a fire, but each scale floated and glowed a dull orange, dissolving into a brilliant white light.

"What's happening?" Kurama said.

"Everybody, get back!" Irileth barked and the guards retreated.

But Kuwabara was drawn to the light. It began to fragment, and threads of silvery white began to stream towards him, entering his body. He felt something awakening in his soul and he knew the beast's name. Mirmulnir. Allegiance-Strong-Hunt. He felt all its years and experience as they became one with him.

As he felt all this happening, the word he'd found in Bleak Falls Barrow bubbled from the back of his mind. The dragon's soul seized the memory and poured its knowledge into it. Kuwabara found that he understood the word, what it meant, the whole concept and how to turn it into a Shout like the dragons used. Like that great behemoth that reduced Helgen to smoldering ash.

Fus. Force. Unrelenting Force. Kuwabara glowed with a silvery white light as the soul's integration finished, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the guards and his friends watching him, awe written on their faces.

"Kuwabara, are you alright?" asked Yusuke.

Kuwabara blinked several times, he didn't know what happened, but his mind had never been this clear, a totally different experience from Bleak Falls Barrow. "I'm alright, I'm not hurt or anything," he answered.

He stood up and realized what was in his hand. Spirit Sword in all its glory, shining bright like a torch. "You did it, Kuwabara! You got your Spirit Sword back!"

While he processed the whole thing, someone called him, "I can't believe it! You... You're Dragonborn!" one of the guards told Kuwabara like a crazed fan. It was the guard with the open-faced helm.

"Dragonborn? What its that?" Kurama asked him.

The guard cleared his throat, "In the very oldest tales, back from when there still were dragons in Skyrim, the Dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power. That's what you did, isn't it? Absorbed that dragons power?"

"I... I don't really know what I did..." Kuwabara asked, very confused about the whole thing. It wasn't like he willingly took it, it just happened.

The guard continued, "There's one way to find out. Try to Shout. That would prove it. According to the old legends, only the Dragonborn can Shout without training, the way dragons do."

"Dragonborn, what are you talking about?" Another guard asked, wearing no helm at all, a cut on his ash-covered cheek.

"That's right! My grandfather used to tell stories about the Dragonborn," said another, wearing a helm with a pair of ram's horns, curling back. "Those born with the dragon blood in 'em. Like old Tiber Septim himself."

"I never heard of Tiber Septim killing any dragons," Cut-cheek shot back.

"There weren't any dragons back then, you idiot," said Open-helm. "They're coming back now for the first time in... forever."

"But the old tales tell of the Dragonborn who could kill dragons and steal their power. You must be one!" Ram-horns told the Kuwabara.

Kurama scratched his head listening to their conversation. The guards said that Kuwabara was some kind of legendary figure, judging from the light display a minute ago? "What do you say Irileth? You're being awfully quiet," he said to the housecarl.

"Come on Irileth, tell us. Do you believe in this Dragonborn business?" Cut-cheek asked.

The Dunmer growled, annoyed by the stupid question, "Some of you would be better off keeping quiet than flapping your gums on matters you don't know anything about. Here's a dead dragon, and that's something I definitely understand. Now we know we can kill them. But I don't need some mythical Dragonborn. Someone who can put down dragons is more than enough for me," the dark elf told them.

Open-helm waved his hand to dismiss her, "You wouldn't understand Housecarl. You ain't a Nord."

Irileth put his hands on her hips, "I've been all across Tamriel. I've seen plenty of things as outlandish as this. I'd advise you all to trust in the strength of your sword arms over tales and legends," the housecarl said, a hint of contempt on her elven features.

Yusuke shook his head, "How could Kuwabara be one of these Dragonborn? And what does this shouting have to do with him being the Dragonborn? Maybe you guys don't know, but we shout at each other a lot and-"

"No." Kuwabara spoke behind him. "This is not normal shouting. The dragon soul told me everything he knew about Shouting. Now step aside."

He walked a bit further from them to the grassy area. He pulled the word from his memory, feeling how to form his Voice into a Shout.

"Fus!" He Shouted, and a wave of sound rushed from his lips. Everyone else gasped in shock when they saw some small pebbles roll away, the grass parting as the Shout passed over it. Kuwabara himself was pushed back a couple of steps.

"See? That was Shouting! What you just did! It must be! You really are Dragonborn then. Hahaha!" said Open-helm, the awe back on his face.

Kuwabara turned back to the housecarl, who was shaking her head in disbelief.

"That's amazing," she said with her jaw dropped, "I don't know about this Dragonborn business, but I'm sure glad you're with us. You'd better get back to Whiterun right away. Jarl Balgruuf will want to know what happened here," the Dunmer said, red eyes weary. Then she pointed at the guard with burn injury, "And bring him to Temple of Kynareth, quickly!"

When they were about to leave the tower, Kurama called Irileth, "Housecarl, may I take some of these dragon bones and scales with me?"

"Sure, why not? The beast didn't need it anymore," she said.

Kurama carefully put the bones and scales inside his pocket. They were quite heavy, so he only took a little.

With everything set, they walked in slow pace due to the injured guardsman to Whiterun. As they reached the city gates an earth-shattering thunder boomed from the sky.

"DOVAHKIIN!"

With the call, the ground shook and all the birds took flight. Irileth and everyone closed their ears after they fell due to the rumble. When the thunder stopped its low rumbling, everything was eerily quiet. Everyone in Whiterun was out in the streets, looking at the huge mountain to the southeast, its peak wreathed in cloud. They milled around, each and every one of them as curious as the each other, including Keiko, Genkai, Shizuru, Botan and Yukina who ran out from Dragonsreach to see what the loud voice was about.

When they saw Kuwabara and the others back from outside, they rushed to embrace them. "Kazuma, you're alright?" asked Shizuru, holding her brother's face.

Kuwabara took his sister's hand from his cheek, "I'm okay, sis. We're fine. But something amazing happened."

"Yes, the loud voice, what is that?" she inquired.

Shaking his head, Kuwabara replied, "No, not that. Something happened to me. We should go to the Jarl, he will want to know about this. Come on, guys." That last part was directed to the boys who were telling the other women about the dragon.

They left the market area, passing through the crowd who was murmuring among themselves. When they entered Dragonsreach, the Jarl was having conversation with Proventus, his advisor and Hrongar, his brother. The first welcomed them as they approached the throne, "Good. You're finally here. The Jarl's been waiting for you."

The four stood in front of the Jarl as he addressed them, "So what happened at the watchtower? Was the dragon there?"

Kurama flicked his crimson hair, "My lord, I'm sorry, the watchtower was destroyed when we got there, but we killed the dragon."

Balgruuf laughed over joy, "I knew I could count on Irileth. But there must be more to it that that."

The housecarl climbed the stairs to join them, "My Jarl, I won't take the credit of killing the beast. It was them who wounded it and he gave the killing blow," she gestured to Kuwabara on the last part.

"Really? Impressive," said the Jarl, "Tell me, young warrior, how did you kill it? I would like to know the details."

Kuwabara told him about the fight, how his friends helped him and that he saved Irileth, "But there's something else. When it died, I absorbed some sort of power from it," he finished his story. The women gasped, especially Shizuru who was worried about her brother. Genkai on the other hand stayed vigilant, sensing that Kuwabara's spirit energy was dramatically heightened over a day. That was impossible without proper training like the one she gave Yusuke years ago.

The Jarl readjusted his sitting position from the usual slouching. His bear of a brother stunned. "So it's true. The Greybeards really were summoning you," the Jarl told him.

Yusuke wiped his sweat from his forehead, "Excuse me, we're all strangers to this country. Who or what are the Greybeards?"

"Masters of the Way of the Voice. They live in seclusion high up on the slopes of the Throat of the World," said Balgruuf, almost sounded excited. Yusuke teased Genkai over the similarity between them.

Now Shizuru who had been silent the whole time decided to speak, "And what do they want with my brother? What did he ever do to them?"

The Jarl stood up facing them as he explained, "The Dragonborn is said to be uniquely gifted in the Voice – the ability to focus your vital essence into a Thu'um, or Shout. If you really are Dragonborn," he told Kuwabara, "they can teach you how to use your gift."

"Didn't you hear that thundering sound as you returned to Whiterun?" Balgruuf's brother, Hrongar interjected.

"Of course, they heard it. Look outside, the whole city came out of the buildings," said Botan whose ears were still ringing because of the summon.

"That was the Voice of the Greybeards, summoning him to High Hrothgar. This hasn't happened in... centuries at least. Not since Tiber Septim himself was summoned when he was still Talos of Atmora," Hrongar explained proudly.

"Hrongar, calm yourself," Proventus said, "What does any of this Nord nonsense have anything to do with our friend here? Capable as he may be, I don't see any signs of him being this, what, Dragonborn?"

"Nord nonsense! Why you puffed-up ignorant..." Hrongar shot back at him, clearly angry. "These are our sacred traditions that are going back to the founding of the First Empire!"

Balgruuf had to hold him before his steward lost his front teeth, "Hrongar, don't be so hard on Avenicci. He's not well-versed in our customs."

The Imperial continued, "I meant no disrespect of course." Keiko could tell he didn't really mean it. "It's just that, what do these Greybeards want with him, like his sister said?"

The Jarl folded his arms in front of his chest, "That's the Greybeards business, not ours. Whatever happened when you killed that dragon, it revealed something in you, and the Greybeards heard it. If they think you are Dragonborn, who are we to argue. You'd better get up to High Hrothgar, the highest mount in Skyrim, perhaps in Tamriel, southeast of here, immediately. There's no refusing the summons of the Greybeards. It's a tremendous honour." said Balgruuf.

Kuwabara shook his head in protest, "No, we just came back after fighting a dragon. Can't we at least get some rest?"

Balgruuf lowered his head, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just too excited. You're right. Proventus, come here for a second," he called his steward. He whispered something to him, then the Imperial rushed to the backroom and came back with a piece of paper and a quill.

Balgruuf took the paper and stamped it with his ring. Then he handed the paper to Kuwabara, "Here, this is the act of Breezehome, the house next to Warmaiden's, the forge you see when you enter the city, you know that?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Take it. The house is yours. You can stay there with your sister and friends. But please wait a few hours for my men to furnish it. You don't wanna sleep in a bed covered with dust, eh?"

Keiko and the other women, except Genkai, hugged each other, feeling happy because now they had a home. But Kuwabara asked the Jarl, "Wait, sir. Do I have to pay for it?"

Jarl Balgruuf laughed out loud, his voice surrounding the palace, "What nonsense is that? Of course not, lad! It's totally free, because, I have other gift for you."

He walked down the dais and gathered everyone in the palace, from doorman to sweeper lady. Kuwabara and his friends were nervous to see what he was doing.

"Listen up, everyone!" he addressed them. "You all know very well about the rumor of dragons. In fact, it's not a rumor at all. It's true there was a dragon in Helgen a few days ago. One even managed to ravage the western watchtower. But fear not, this man here slayed the dragon and saved us all!"

The crowd cheered and hailed him, some of the guards even banged their swords to their shields, making a loud noise. The Jarl raised his hand to calm them down, then he faced Kuwabara, "So by my right as Jarl, I name you Kazuma Kuwabara, Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honour that's within my power to grant."

The crowd, again, raised their voice and chanted his name, "Long live Thane Kazuma! Hail! Hail!"

After the euphoria died down, Kuwabara bowed to him as a symbol of gratitude. This whole experience was overwhelming because he had never been given a title of honor before.

"Rise now, Thane Kazuma," said Balgruuf.

Kuwabara complied and smiled, "Thank you so much, Jarl Balgruuf. But if I may, please call me Kuwabara... I mean, Thane Kuwabara. It's just where I'm from, people call each other by their surname. Only close relatives address their loved ones by their given name."

Balgruuf smiled sheepishly, "Oh, apologies. It's just we are used to call someone with their first name. I'll rectify my error in the future, Thane Kuwabara."

Kuwabara and everyone bowed once again before taking their leave towards the gate, but before the guards opened it for them, Balgruuf called him again.

"Thane! Wait! I almost forgot. There's one more thing I must give you."

Yusuke nudged Kuwabara to tease him, "Holy smokes! What did you dream of last night? Because it seems these gift are endless, man."

Ignoring his jest, Kuwabara asked the Jarl about this gift. The Jarl signaled Irileth to bring someone. After not too long, she brought with her a woman in steel armor. Her skin was pale in contrast with her black, shiny hair. She wore a shield on her back and carried a steel sword with her.

Balgruuf presented her in front of them, "I assign you Lydia as a personal housecarl, and this weapon from my armoury to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify my guards in my hold of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you are part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honoured to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn," he said as he presented him the Axe of Whiterun.

Irileth watched him accepted it, while Yusuke's jaw dropped comically after seeing that his best friend was just given a girl! So she decided to add her opinion, "You should be proud, my Thane. Lydia is the best apprentice I've ever had. I guarantee she will not disappoint." She turned to Lydia to say goodbye, "Do your duty and be safe, darling."

The said woman responded in a soldier manner, "Yes, ma'am."

After the Jarl and his housecarl went back to the palace, they all went out of the palace and headed to Bannered Mare where they decided to rest. As suspected, everyone in there recognized him as their new Thane and Hulda the barkeep gave them free rooms and meals for them. The men went to the rooms happily, throwing themselves to the bed, while the women took a bath. Little did they know that the defeat of Mirmulnir would reveal something other than Kuwabara's identity as Dragonborn, but also a secret from long ago that happened on Earth.

* * *

Power Level:

Kuwabara: Level 15 (skyrim)/D- class (YYH)

Yusuke: Level 13 (skyrim)/D- class (YYH)

Kurama: Level 12 (skyrim)/D- class (YYH)

Hiei: Level 13 (skyrim)/D- class (YYH)

Irileth: Level 12 (skyrim)/D- class (YYH)

Balgruuf: Level 10 (skyrim)/E+ class (YYH)

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 **A/N: Finally, we have our Dragonborn! Not only Kuwabara got a Shout, the dragon soul also boosted his spirit energy up there. Please tell me what you think. Love it? Is there something you don't like? Tell me as well. Next, it's time for the ladies! We'll see them in action as they try to find their place in Whiterun. Before I leave, can you find a reference I put in there**?


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elder Scrolls, Yu Yu Hakusho or any characters you recognize. I only use them in this fic.**

 **Hey, guys. It's been quite long, but finally the new chapter is here! Now you'll see how some of the girls will try to find work in Whiterun according to their talent. I hope it's interesting, so please enjoy it.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Looking for Jobs

When the night arrived in Whiterun, Bannered Mare came to life as usual with the guests gathering around the fire to listen to the bard, Mikael, singing Ragnar the Red for who knows how many times, or just to drink alone in the corner. Kuwabara took the opportunity to know her housecarl.

"Honor to you, my Thane," Lydia saluted him as he passed her in front of his room.

"Please no need for formalities here, have a seat, Lydia," he said, as he entered his room.

"Yes, my Thane. What do you need?"

Kuwabara thought carefully what to say to her. The fact that they were alone in the room made him more uncomfortable, especially when he was reminded of how Shizuru warned him not to do anything funny with her.

Brushing off the mental image, he asked her, "So I'm a Thane, what does that mean?" They didn't have such thing in Japan.

"The Jarl has recognised you was an important person in the Hold. A hero. The title of Thane is an honour, a gift for your service. Guards will know to look the other way, if you tell them who you are," Lydia answered him perfectly.

Kuwabara nodded and smiled, realizing how awesome he was now. He could imagine how jealous Yusuke right now. "Tell me something, Lydia. The Jarl said you are my housecarl, like Irileth to him. But what does a Housecarl do?"

"As my Thane, I'll guard you and all you own, with my life." Lydia said solemnly.

"Oooookay then," Kuwabara drawled slowly. "It will take some time until I am getting used to this, I think. Where's everyone?"

Lydia motioned to the lobby, "Mr. Yusuke said he wanted to visit Jorrvaskr. Ms. Yukina was accompanying Mr. Kurama to Temple of Kynareth so that he can get his injury treated. Lady Genkai, Ms. Keiko, Ms. Botan and Ms. Shizuru are sightseeing around Whiterun, but I don't know where Mr. Hiei is," she finished her report with a nod.

Kuwabara sighed. "Every time the runt was MIA, he must be up to no good. But whatever, at least he's not around to irritate me," he thought.

"Well, I'm gonna take a bath, Lydia, so can you watch over my stuff, please?" asked Kuwabara.

"As you wish, my Thane," she answered seriously.

* * *

"Aaaauughhhh!" The guard screamed in pain as Danica Pure-Spring, a priestess of Kynareth washed his burns. Her assistant, Acolyte Jenssen, tried to stop him from struggling so that she could apply healing spell and give him some potion.

Then the sound of creaking door was heard. A red-haired man and a short, long haired woman walked in. The woman appeared fine, but the man had numerous cuts on his body.

"Excuse me, is this the Temple of Kynareth?" the woman asked.

Danica gave the potion to Jenssen who finally was able to calm his patient. "Yes, you're right. I'm Danice Pure-Spring, the priestess of Kynareth, and the person in charge here. Is there anything I can do?" she greeted them.

"Please, my friend here is injured. Could you please help him?" the woman begged.

Danica nodded and allowed him to sit on a bed and remove his shirt. When she saw his predicament, she was stunned, "By Kynareth's wings, that's horrible! How did you get these wounds?"

Kurama sighed, "It's a long story, Ms. Danica," he said. The priestess chuckled, "Don't worry, I have plenty of time here. Please do tell."

The man whose name was Kurama began by telling her his audience with the Jarl to send reinforcements to Riverwood, then he told her about his participation to defeat the dragon earlier that day.

"That's unbelievable. You fought alongside the Dragonborn?" she asked rather excitedly.

Kurama looked at Yukina who only shrugged when she heard the news spreading like wildfire. The ice demon paced around the place, looking at various bottles on a table. "So, Ms. Danica, is this like a hospital?"

"What is a hospital?" Danica asked her back.

Yukina scratched her head, trying to explain the concept in this world, "Um, you know, it's where sick people go to be treated by healers."

Danica nodded, "Then the answer is yes. We help sick people get better. Why do you ask?"

"Well you see, my friend and I came from far away, and we got lost here. We have no job at the moment and I have a skill in healing arts. So I want to know if I can help you with anything," she said enthusiastically.

Danica stopped examining Kurama for a second. She saw her assistant tending the guard while another patient slept beside him. "Right now, as you see, we can handle everything ourselves. But with civil war escalating after Ulfric's escape, I can see wounded soldiers cramped in this temple, so welcome to the Temple of Kynareth. You're hired."

Yukina came and hugged her, after saying thank you. Then Danica told her again, "Now, I want to see what you can do. Show me what you got."

Suddenly Yukina felt nervous, "Well, I can bandage the wound and making prescriptions if you need me to."

The priestess chuckled a bit, "I understand if that's the way you heal people where you're from, but here we use potions and spells. Do you know any spell, dear?"

"I know some potions from Arcadia, but I just learned it two days ago, so it may not be up to your standard," Kurama interrupted.

Knowing that magic existed in this world encouraged Yukina to tell her about her ability, "Before I came here, I could heal others with my own spell, but now that I'm here, I find it hard to perform even a simple technique."

"Hmm, I see," said Danica who folded her arms, "Are you always this nervous?" she asked her.

The question made Yukina jump back in response, "I... Yeah?"

"I thought so. Listen, using magic requires a great control of your emotion, even more so with Restoration technique. In order to use healing spell, you have to calm yourself first," Danica began lecturing.

"Excuse me for interrupting, miss," Kurama cut in, "You said something about Restoration, what is that?"

Clearing her throat, she continued her explanation, "There are five schools of magic. Destruction, Illusion, Alteration, Conjuration and Restoration, each has its own usefulness. Destruction magic is the most popular style of magic where you use the elements to fight your enemy. Illusion is useful if you want to influence people's mind, to make them fear you or to raise their morale. Alteration is the school of magic that focuses on changing the physical properties of things around you. You use Conjuration to call for help from the another realm in the form of weapons or allies. And finally we have Restoration to heal injuries."

"Wow, there are so many things to learn and they all sound interesting. Is it hard to master Restoration magic?" Yukina said with fascination.

Danice moved to a drawer and took a tome out of it, "It's not harder or easier than other schools. If you have the gift, you must be able to cast this spell," she handed her the tome.

The cover had a symbol of a bird. The yellow leather felt smooth as if it was made yesterday. She read it for a few seconds before putting it on one of the bed. "I think I'm gonna try doing it myself first, without help."

Danica stepped aside to let her do her "magic" on Kurama. Yukina put both her hands on back, closed her eyes and concentrated hard. Reaching deep within herself, she thought of Kuwabara who was always be kind to her, which was kinda awkward because she was with Kurama. Suddenly Kurama felt a warm sensation coming from her hands, "Yukina, you did it!"

She opened her eyes and found that his cuts were closing before her own eyes. She couldn't believe it, her spirit energy was back. "Well done!" she heard Danica behind her. "I see now you have the gift, your magicka pool must have been activated."

She shook her head before replying, "No, miss, this is not magicka. It's called spirit energy, the force that flows inside every sentient being. Kurama and I are accustomed to it, before we came to this land."

Danica took a closer look at Kurama's back. It was completely healed, no scratches, bruises or red marks visible."Astonishing. This spirit energy of yours has a similar effect to healing spell. I'd like to know it more, but I want to see your talent with magicka. I believe you can be a master of Restoration if you can heal someone with your own energy," she said.

Yukina grabbed the tome and hugged it tightly, "Yes, Lady Danica. I'm willing to learn, please I need your help."

Danica set her eyes on her, a young prospective apprentice, the first one after years of The Great War. She walked up to her and gave her a handshake, "When can you start?"

* * *

Shizuru was strolling aimlessly on the streets of Whiterun, while smoking her cigarettes she still had. God knows how they weren't lost when they were sucked into the portal or becoming damp in the weather of Skyrim. The merchants were shouting their goods, either they were fruits, vegetables, meat, or jewellery. She wanted to make her money, to make her busy while she was here. But she was never a good saleswoman, her dry personality made it difficult for her to make a sale. She asked a young man was leaning on a wooden pillar in the corner if there was a vacancy currently opened and he said he worked for a guy named Belethor, at General Good Store. The young man brought her in to see the store so that this Belethor could see if she could help him.

Inside, she noticed many stuff cluttered everywhere, but in a neat way. "Welcome, young lady. My name's Belethor. How can I help you today?" asked the shop owner asked her.

"Uh, I'm just... curious if I can be of assistance here," she said.

The Breton squinted his eyes and examined her carefully which made Shizuru very uncomfortable when she felt his eyes piercing her. "Well... I definitely can use your... charm to attract more customer. Let's just say the atmosphere in here is kinda boring these days, hehehe..."

She tried to ignore his sleaziness and focused on the important thing, "But you know, I'm not good at selling stuff. I may as well scare them away and close your business."

The man shook his head, "No, no, no. Don't worry. I'm not asking you to do that. I can sell everything in here just fine. Besides, they don't call me the best salesman in Whiterun for no reason." This man is either very good or a liar, she thought.

"Listen," he continued after making sure the young man left the store, "Jon Battle-Born did a terrible job at calling customers. I only hired him because he has a crush on Olfina Gray-Mane and he asked my help to flirt. Can't say no to a young man, you know?"

She tried so hard not to roll her eyes and to keep a straight face, "So what do you want from me?"

"Simple. You just have to stand outside and smile at everyone. If someone asks you what you're doing, you say, "I worked for Belethor at General Good Store.""

Her blood boiled after she heard that, "What do you take me for? A crier? Really?" Her voice raised. "You think I can only use my look to get money? You think every woman is an eye candy? I'm outta here! I hope no one wil ever come to this goddamn shop ever again. Your stuff are junk anyway."

She storm to the door furiously, while Belethor laughed and informed her, "I tell you what, lass, I've been working here for 21 years and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you never know what's gonna come through that door. I'll buy and sell everything, even my own sister if I had one. It's your loss!"

She walked away as fast as she could from there. What a creepy asshole! She'd never be treated this way, but then again, if there were scumbags on Earth, why wasn't any in Skyrim? Her heart was still burning in anger when she reached near the gate of Whiterun and she heard the sound of metalworking. She turned around and saw a woman in her thirties honing a sword on a grind. No one helped her and she thought it was a job for men.

"Excuse me," she called her, "What are you doing?"

The woman stopped pedaling and turned around, "Oh, I'm just sharpening this sword for my father. Can I help you with something?"

"No, I'm just curious, why is a woman like you doing a man's job?" Shizuru asked her.

The woman stood up and wiped the stain of ash on her hands, "I see you must be a stranger. Women in Skyrim are used to hard labour, just like the environment. So please don't be surprised if you see a woman doing blacksmithing."

Shizuru smiled a bit. Apparently, woman emancipation was a normal thing in Skyrim, "I see. But do you have someone else to help you? You can't possibly do all of that," she said as she pointed at the equipment in her workshop.

The woman leaned on the workbench, barely sitting on it, "I have my husband, Ulfberth inside. He's in charge of the trade, you know, buying and selling armor and weapons, as well as the smithing stuff. He taught me everything he knew about smithing and helped me in the workshop."

She sighed between the explanation, perhaps it was because of the heat, "But one day, an accident happened."

"What happened?"

"A dwemer armor fell and crushed his hand. He can't work anymore and since then, I do everything by myself."

Shizuru couldn't imagine how hard it was to handle everything single detail of weapon and armor making. How this woman was still alive was beyond her. "Maybe I can help you? Not that I've ever done anything like this, though," she murmured.

"I appreciate it if you want to help me," said the woman, "But yo have to know I don't make low grade stuff. What's your name?"

"I am Shizuru, nice to meet you."

"My name is Adrienne Avenicci, daughter of Proventus Avenicci, the Jarl's steward. I may not be the best blacksmith in Whiterun, but I'm trying to make the best weapon and armor."

This woman had a high goal, too, Shizuru thought. "Who's the best, then?"

The Imperial looked at the north and up, "It's Eorlund Gray-Mane. He works at Skyforge, that way," she pointed. "That man's steel is legendary."

From where she was standing, Shizuru could see a part of an eagle statue at the north side of the city. Judging from the distance, that thing must be huge. Then Adrienne's voice brought her back to reality, "So you see what I'm competing against? If I hire you, I can't lower my standard."

She dropped her ciggarette and stepped on it to put it out, "Don't worry, I never disappoint my employer. Just ask the last one."

Adrienne pointed her finger to her, "I'll be the judge to that. Now come here, I want to see your skill first."

Shizuru spent the next couple of hours by working on the tanning rack, trying to prepare the deer hide for the next step. She scrubbed and soaked the hide to make it smooth. Then the mineral and salt treatment was applied to cure it. By the end of day, she presented the fruit of her hard work. Adrienne stretched the leather and looked it closely, "It's... nice, actually. No single dirt or bumps. Are you sure this is your first time?"

Shizuru wiped her sweat off with her shirt, "I swear, I never touched animal hide before."

Adrienne inspected the leather again, trying to see any imperfection, but when she couldn't find it, she took that as an opportunity. "Alright then, you did a good job, so I don't see any reason to say no. You will be in charge of the tanning rack, for now, but if you show me a potential and willingness to learn, maybe you can handle some metal one day."

The two women shook hand to seal the deal. They went inside the house/store which was called Warmaiden's and Shizuru was given a blacksmith apron by Adrienne's husband, Ulfberth War-Bear, a man with the name that suited him. She left the building and stared at the outfit. Days of hard work was waiting for her.

* * *

Keiko was wandering in Bannered Mare, looking at how people of Skyrim live their lives. She saw many types of people coming from that door, warriors, soldiers, bards, shop owners and commoners. Pretty much every job in medieval fantasy was there, which didn't surprise her anymore since they were in a fantasy world, except this one was quite real. The customers put their orders, making the servant girl move back and forth, delivering ale and mead to cure the cold.

Feeling sympathetic to her, Keiko approached the counter and spoke to Hulda, the barkeep, "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm a stranger here with the new thane and his friends. We have enough coins for a few weeks, but I'm not sure how are we supposed to continue after that. Do you have a job opening at this moment?"

Hulda eyed her from head to toe. This girl was indeed petite, but a healthy one. "What can you do, young one? Are you good at cooking, cleaning, taking orders?"

"I can do all those things. I lived alone for 8 months, so I know how to make food for myself, how to clean my room. I've never worked in a restaurant before, but I'm a fast learner," she said confidently, just like her past job interviews.

The barkeep tapped her fingers on the table, "Actually we can add another waitress. That would certainly help Saadia big time." Then she moved to the side a little bit, "Saadia honey, come here!"

The said woman came to them, still carrying a tray after serving some beef stew. "Yes, mum. Can I help you?"

Hulda introduced Keiko to her, "This is Keiko, our new servant. She's willing to help us, so please be nice to her and show her the ropes."

The Redguard gave her a "yes" before taking Keiko to the kitchen where she instructed her to bring the food to the guest while she cooked in the kitchen, safe from the eyes of the men who coveted her. From there, she watched her skillfully taking many orders, memorizing them and sending them to the kitchen for her to make. She instantly knew this girl was not an amateur.

When the serving hour finally finished, piles of coins were laying on top of the counter, much to Hulda's content. "Well done, lass. Not bad for your first night. I knew for some time that Saadia was overwhelmed by having to cook and serve at once. But now that we have you here, I can see we'll have a better days ahead," she complimented her.

Keiko smiled as she put one more coin in front of Hulda, "Thank you, Ms. Hulda. I'm just grateful to help wherever I can. But that it was such a hard work, "she said as she wiped her sweat from her forehead.

Hulda knew exactly what she meant. That kind of work deserved to be rewarded. "Ah, yes. That's right. About your payment." She ducked to take a satchel filled with septims and put it on the counter. "Here. This is your share for tonight. You've earned it."

Saying thanks to her, Keiko left the inn with the coins clinking in her hands. On the road, she met Botan who wanted to tell her something. "Hey, Keiko. Come over here. Kuwabara's house is finally fully furnished. Check it out!"

The two girls ran together, passing Belethor's pawn shop to Breezehome. When they pushed the door, the dragonslayer welcomed them. "Ta da! Welcome, Botan, Keiko! We finally have our own home." They were wandering around the house to see every little detail. They've got cozy-looking furniture, three bed rooms, a fully functioning kitchen, and an outhouse. It wasn't much, but it was sufficient for them. The house had everything they needed. That night, they don't have to worry about anything and they could rest in calmness.

* * *

There you go, guys. Please leave your review and comment to make this story better. Next, the journey to High Hrothgar will begin!

haljordan123 signing out.


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